Bargersville Community Fire Department Ladder 254 sits in the bay of Station 254, the joint White River and Bargersville Fire Department station at the Center Grove Emergency Operations Center in January 2022.
Daily Journal File Photo
With rapid growth underway and more on the horizon, the Bargersville Community Fire Department is beginning to explore adding another station.
Bargersville Fire has a growing need to expand fire protection and EMS services in the southern areas of their fire district — southern Union and Franklin townships. With this in mind, officials have made an exploratory post seeking information on land availability in southern Union and Franklin townships — with an eye toward the Providence and Union Elementary School areas, said Mike Pruitt, deputy fire chief.
This is part of the department’s long-range plan, where they are gaming out where future infrastructure needs to be placed. They are looking for land that may be available within the next five years to be used for a future station, he said.
Bargersville Fire currently has three stations — one on State Road 135 north of State Road 144, one at the intersection of Smokey Row Road and Mullinix Road and a joint station with the White River Township Fire Department and the Center Grove Police Department at the Center Grove Emergency Operations Center on Morgantown Road.
As of right now, it can take 15 to 20 minutes for Bargersville firefighters to respond to calls at their far southern limits. This is unacceptable, Pruitt said.
“We have to come up with a plan for better service to southern parts of our area,” he said. “Now we do fewer runs down there, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less important. We have to build out a strategy for expansion, so that’s why we’re trying to get a feel for where land is going to be available.”
While they are currently looking at the southern area of the fire district, Pruitt says they are also looking at other areas they serve as well to see if changes are needed there as well. For example, with the expected growth at the State Road 144 Interstate 69 interchange, one question that arises is if the department needs to look at building or moving a station out there, he said.
For the last few years, the department has also been contracted to service areas of Harrison Township in Morgan County. This factors in as well, Pruitt said.
“We want to make sure we can provide service, the best service to our people in Johnson County, plus that area that we’re contracted to protect,” he said.
As for southern Union and Franklin townships, Bargersville Fire is looking for around five acres, give or take a few, to build a new station — with the possibility of a future expansion of whatever is built, Pruitt said.
The specific area the department is looking at is the area from Providence down to County Road 100 South, along the County Road 400 West corridor. They are also not against putting another station on State Road 135 in that area, he said.
Building a new station is not cheap, which is why they are planning it out now. They also know they will need to ask for a bond to pay for it, he said.
Sewer and water access are also factors to consider. If they were to build a station that far south, it would likely not be connected to the town of Bargersville’s sewer system any time soon, though there is a chance it could be connected to the town’s water system near Union Elementary, Pruitt said.
“Those are things we take into account also,” he said.
Department officials also looking for land deals. They’re always up for land donations, but understand that it’s prime property that a landowner may be more inclined to sell instead, Pruitt said.
Those with information about potential land sites are asked to email Fire Chief Eric Funkhouser at [email protected], or Pruitt at [email protected].
“It’s just the beginning of the tide of this department’s expansion with all the growth,” Pruitt said. “As we cover 71 square miles, it’s one of the largest fire districts in the state. With the rapid growth, we have to do everything we can to keep up with that growth and manage that responsibly.”
