City leader questions consolidating fire stations

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The potential closure of some fire stations in Indianapolis has one City-County Council member concerned for his community.

The area in particular is Franklin Township, a part of the city that’s seen much growth over the past several years. That’s where two fire stations would consolidate into one new, yet to be built station.

But in the southeast part of the city, there’s a lot of ground cover. And that has some people wondering if consolidating is a safe idea.

Change is inevitable. For the rural corners of Indianapolis, that means watching homes sprout from the same ground where crops once stood.

“When I was young it was all fields,” said Anita Smith who grew up in Wanamaker but now lives near Acton, two communities that lie in Franklin Township. She said it looks much more different now compared to her childhood. “There’s new additions everywhere, seems like every farmers field is building a new addition or it’s for sale.”

But is change always good? When it comes to potentially losing a fire station, like Station 55 in Acton, Smith isn’t so sure.

“I’m glad that station’s there. I have a neighbor that, her mom is 90 years old and (fire fighters) come out quite a lot when she falls,” she said.

Councillor Aaron Freeman, who represents district 25 which covers Franklin Township, has some reservations about the Indianapolis Fire Department’s redeployment effort.

Part of the plan includes closing Station 52 in Acton,  turning Station 54 to the west into a fitness center, and consolidating both into a fire house that would go somewhere between them in th fields near Hickory and McGregor Road.

“I just want to do what’s best for the people that I represent and looking out into the future, I think consolidating two stations is going to be a tough sell out here,” he said.

And it all comes back to the area’s growth. Freeman said the plan might be a good idea now, but if more subdivisions are built in the future having only one fire station covering a vast area worries him.

“If you’re the second one to get injured that day, if you’re the second one to get sick that day, what happens? Where’s your ambulance going to come from? Where’s your fire truck going to come from? You’re going to be waiting a little while and I think in a first class city like we have, I think we need to think about this a little bit.

Freeman emphasized several times that he has a good working relationship with IFD Chief Ernest Malone. He said he looks forward to having more conversations with the chief about the redeployment effort before any decisions are made.