INDIANAPOLIS – A city-county councilor says closing a fire station in Franklin Township could put you in danger, demanding the city rethink its new decision.
So far, more than 200 people who live near Interstate 74 on the southeast side of the city say they’re concerned too.
They’ve signed a petition circulated by the Franklin Township Civic League, asking Indianapolis to reconsider closing the station.
Friday it was announced in the next 12 to 18 months, the Indianapolis Fire Department (IFD) will close stations 52 and 54 in order to consolidate them into one centralized station.
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“I most definitely will feel less safe,” lifelong Franklin Township resident Jim Hampton said.
IFD says it will build a new station that’s in between those two locations, saving as much as $1.5 million every year in the long run.
The new station in Franklin Township could cost up to $3.5 million to build, according to IFD. That means the station could be paid off in less than 3 years, combined with the savings from closing the two existing stations.
Indianapolis says safety will not be affected: Even with the change, it’s projected that, 90 percent of the time, fire crews will be on the scene within 4 minutes.
But City-County Councilor Aaron Freeman (R-25) says the city is wrong and is putting people’s safety at risk.
“This is unfair. This is unjust. This is unsafe,” Freeman said.
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His concern – on top of increasing the distance crews have to travel – is what will happen in the case of two or three emergency calls at a time with only one local station in the mix. That could mean a major delay in service.
“Our priorities are completely out of whack,” Freeman said. “We want to spend a billion dollars on mass transit, but we can’t keep a fire station open. We are completely and utterly out of line with our priorities.”
His other issue with this change: He says he and other city-county councilors had little say in the matter. They found out in a press release Friday that a final decision had been made.
“The good people of Franklin Township had their public safety dollar raised, and now we’re going to close the fire station,” Freeman said. “It makes no sense whatsoever that there are more resources coming into public safety, yet we’re going to close a fire station.”
City administrators – including Mayor Joe Hogsett – made the decision. They say they’d been publicly discussing the issue and meeting about it for several months.
Freeman says he’ll do what he can to push back on any future city budget that doesn’t work to keep fire stations over.
IFD is also consolidating two north-side stations, including one at 55th and Illinois that will close.
Also included in the new plan: Consolidating the IFD administrative staff into one building, constructing the "Battalion 3 Chiefs Quarters" at IFD Station 10, and consolidating stations 16 and 32.
The two southeast-side stations shutting down will not sit unused, though. IFD plans on repurposing Station 54 into an IFD fitness center. Meanwhile, station 52 is set to become a neighborhood community center.
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