Planning is underway for a new Greenwood fire station that would replace an aging one on Stop 18 Road.
Earlier this week, the Greenwood Board of Public Works and Safety unanimously approved spending $250,000 to hire consultants to create designs for a new fire station to replace Fire Station 93, which is at 255 W. Stop 18 Road.
A timeline for when the new station would be built hasn’t been determined yet. An estimate on how much it could cost will be determined through the design process, fire department spokesperson Chad Tatman said.
City officials are still working to find a suitable location for the fire station, which will need to remain on the southwest side of the city. As development in Greenwood has continued to move south since the station was built three decades ago, they are looking for a location south of where the current station is, Tatman said.
“We want to have faster response time to homes further south,” Tatman said.
When the fire station was built it was operated by volunteers, but since then Greenwood has transitioned into paid full- and part-time firefighters. That means the needs for the station, such as having places for firefighters to sleep, have changed, he said.
The new station will also be designed in a way that will allow it to be easily expanded as the area continues to grow, Tatman said.
The station currently houses a fire engine and ambulance, he said.
