NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla. Construction for a new Lee County EMS substation has begun. Before, Lee County EMS shared a station with North Fort Myers Fire District. The new substation will give crews more space and help them get to emergencies faster than their current setup in a shared station with the North Fort Myers Fire District. Crews will be available around the clock in the new substation, Lee County EMS Chief Benjamin Abes said. Schedules are switching from 12-hour shifts to 24-hour shifts. “That’ll mean the responses on the off hours from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. that currently an ambulance isn’t available out of that location, is now available,” Abes said. “The shorter the response time, the better off you are.” The fire district agreed to lease one acre of its property to Lee County for the new EMS substation. It is going across the street from the Fire Department, on Trail Circle near US 41. The project is expected to coast $750,000, and the EMS crew plan to move in after the first of the year.