Some Greenwood firefighters are one step closer to having a more modern, practical space.
A request for proposals for construction of a new fire station on the city’s southwest side is expected to go out in the coming weeks. It is estimated to cost between $4.5 and $5 million, and will give the six firefighters who work at the station an additional 4,700 square feet of livable space, Greenwood Fire Chief Darin Hoggatt said.
The city is moving Station 93 about a mile west of its current location at 255 W. Stop 18 Road, to a property on the north side of Cutsinger Road, just west of Freedom Park, which it will actually share with the park. The design phase of the project is done, Hoggatt said.
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The city hopes to start construction by August, and finish the project by May, he said.
The new building will be about 12,700 square feet, and include two drive-thru bays and separate living spaces for up to 10 people. The current station, which was built in 1987, is about 8,000 square feet, and only has one drive-thru bay, he said.
It was never meant to be a live-in firehouse. In the 1980s, Greenwood Fire was essentially a volunteer department, so no one ever stayed at the facility. Over the years, they tweaked the space to make it more livable. It now has one open room with several bunk-beds, and a shower facility. The kitchen is in the basement.
“That station was never designed to have people in it 24/7,” Hoggatt said.
It is also in the city’s flood plain, and has flooded at least three times since 2016, he said.
The new station will include smaller, private rooms with bunk beds, five private shower stalls and a state-of-the-art kitchen with stainless steel appliances and a large gas stove.
Eventually, the department hopes to house 10 firefighters at Station 93, as it grows. That’s a long-range plan though, Hoggatt said.
“We’re talking 10 to 15 years down the road,” he said.
The station is being built with that growth in mind.
The move will also change who responds to emergencies in certain areas, Hoggatt has said. Station 91 will be responsible for the area around Greenwood Village South as opposed to Station 93, which currently serves it. Station 91 and Station 93 serve larger areas than Station 92 and Station 94. Once the move happens, any redistricting changes should even out the number of emergency calls for all four stations, he said.
The only area where response times may change by a noticeable amount is in the southwest corner of the city, where Whiteland Road intersects with State Road 135. But there isn’t much development in that area that the Greenwood Fire Department is responsible for, he said. Most residences and business are on the west side of State Road 135, which is served by the Bargersville Community Fire Department.
The department tries to keep at least 90 percent of response times under four minutes, which is the national standard.
