The red and white building rises out of the Edinburgh countryside as a symbol of the town’s forward momentum.
Edinburgh Station 41, the new home of the town’s fire department, was built to better accommodate the growing community. After moving from a volunteer unit to three full-time firefighters and even more part-time members, the department needed a more functional headquarters.
Now, they have what they need, now and in the coming years, said Fire Chief Chuck Ridpath.
“It gives us a chance to grow,” he said. “It’s not a building just for today; as things get bigger and bigger in the future, we can expand our personnel and anything else we need to do.”
The Edinburgh community gathered Tuesday night to celebrate and tour the town’s new fire station, which features more space for equipment and personal accommodations for each of the firefighters, as well as a recreational room, kitchen and more.
With additional space, Edinburgh’s fire department will be better suited and prepared to protect local residents and businesses from fires.
“The new fire station will improve the response time to this busy area, and hopefully it will be a big asset for the town,” said Kevin McGinnis, town manager.
Efforts to build a new fire station had been ongoing for years. After the town council voted to have firefighters on duty 24 hours a day, they realized the department would need to have a modern living space with separate sleeping rooms.
The town’s existing fire station, located at 203 S. Walnut St., did not provide that.
“When we did this at the old station, it was not designed for us to live in. Offices were designed into bunkrooms, and there was only one bathroom,” Ridpath said.
Ground broke on the project in June 2022, with funding coming through a Build Operate Transfer, or BOT, agreement. Through the agreement, a developer funds and arranges financing for the project and when it is complete it becomes the property of the town. The town will pay back the financed amount over 10 years at a 2.5% interest rate.
Inside the new station, the fire department has nine bunkrooms to accommodate firefighters on duty, as well as six bathrooms. Recreation space, meeting rooms, a kitchen and offices provides comfort for firefighters in between runs, and offers areas to more efficiently do department business.
The structure offers 9,300 square feet of space, up from the approximately 5,300 square feet in the old station, McGinnis said.
“With it being this size, we can house all of the equipment we have and keep it protected from the weather,” he said.
To outfit the new station, a number of local businesses stepped forward with key donations, Ridpath said. R. Underwood Construction purchased kitchen appliances, installed laminate flooring and are building a kitchen table for the station. Long’s Furniture donated money for chairs and other furniture, as well as a discount on other items. Georg Utz, Inc. provided funding for furnishing as well.
So many others, from government officials to individual residents, were instrumental in making the station a reality, Ridpath said.
“I want to thank all of you, the citizens of this community, for your unwavering support of us. Growing up in Edinburgh, I’ve always appreciated the bond you have with everybody. You can go out and get a thousand ‘hellos’ and ‘how you doing?’ That’s what I’ve always loved about living in a small community,” he said. “We really appreciate you and all of your support.”
The location of the new station, situated on County Road 900 North at the town’s southern border, offers advantages to the growing community of Edinburgh. Fire crews will have easy access to commercial and industrial areas on U.S. 31 and Interstate 65, as well as to the downtown area.
To increase accessibility of the department around town, officials also unveiled the completion of its Main Street extension project on Tuesday.
“This has been an exciting project I’ve had in my heart for 12 years,” said Wade Watson, Edinburgh planning director. “This project began sometime in the mid-’90s, with the acquisition of the right-of-way and the installation of utilities have been here for years and years and years. We’re really exciting to have the ribbon cutting of this road.”
Construction to extend Main Street further south started in July as workers built a half-mile of new road from where it previously ended at Industrial Drive south to the town’s southern border at County Road 900 North, where the new fire station is located.
Along with easing construction, the new roadway will also enhance access to 80-acres of industrial-zoned land within town limits and an additional 154 acres of industrial-zoned land that connects to Edinburgh’s utilities. The south end of Edinburgh, known as the Edinburgh Industrial Park, currently serves about 25 businesses with hundreds of employees, including Ditech, Challenge Plastic Products, Sacoma International, Hisada America and Hoosier Metalform, among other businesses.
“With our new fire station, this gives us immediate access to different areas, so it’s going to be a really good asset,” Watson said.
The $1.2 million project was mostly funded by a $750,000 grant from Indiana’s Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative, or READI program. The rest was covered by Edinburgh’s street department.
The opening of the Main Street extension is the first READI program project to be completed, said Trena Carter, associate director of Administrative Resources association, a sister company to Southern Indiana Housing and Community Development Corporation, which is serving as the conduit for the READI program.
“It’s really exciting to have it done,” she said. “I know the connectivity of Main Street to downtown is really important to the community.”
