City officials recently broke ground on Fire Station 45, a four-bay, three-story station located in the downtown corridor.

The 32,800-square-foot station will house apparatus, firefighter living space and administrative offices for Clearwater Fire and Rescue.

"The relocation of the station from its current location to a major thoroughfare is expected to improve response times," according to a release.

The more than $9 million facility is designed to withstand Category 5 strength hurricane winds. Construction is expected to be complete by April 2014.

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