April 12, 2007

Station to reduce response times

       Fire runs to new subdivisions and businesses in the Center Grove area's booming southeast portion can take up to seven minutes from the White River Township Fire Department station on Runyon Road.  Seconds can save a heart-attack victim or stop a fire from spreading out of the room where it started.  The new $2.85 million Station 51 at State Road 135 and Olive Branch Road should cut response times by minutes when it opens in August, firefighters said.  The more centrally located station is better positioned to serve the growth in the southern part of the Center Grove area and the busy north-south business corridor, firefighters said.

         Soggy weather this winter and spring held up outdoor work at the new station, which was scheduled to replace the Runyon Road station this month. Contractors are installing ceiling fixtures and setting up the plumbing.  Interim Fire Chief Scott Cassin said the delay hasn't caused cost overruns to the project, which fire protection district taxpayers are paying for through a $3 million loan. The only added costs, totaling less than $10,000, came from the decisions to add decorative limestone to the exterior and put in a double water pump instead of a single.

         The new station is nearer to the center of the fire protection district, which serves 37,000 residents and the thousands who pass through the Center Grove area daily to shop or while commuting. The district covers 22 square miles, extending from the Morgan County border into parts of Greenwood.  The new station will allow the department to more quickly reach to the southern part of State Road 135, Cassin said. Most departments calls are for medical emergencies along the business corridor, he said.  Firefighters take four minutes to respond to calls at the Super Target on State Road 135. Trips to Emmanuel Church of Greenwood on Smokey Row Road can take up to seven minutes, Lt. Ryan Cox said.  Response times should be less than four minutes to the southeast area when the station opens, Cassin said.  Firefighters should be able to arrive at the scene for regular calls from subdivisions such as Barrington West in two to three minutes, Cox said.  Those trimmed minutes should be critical, Cassin said. A heart attack victim can suffer permanent brain damage if untreated after four minutes. National fire standards call for a station to be no more than 1.5 miles from all residents.  The new station puts firefighters 1.56 miles away from all residents and businesses in its coverage area, according to the department's strategic plan. The plan, which expects the area's population to grow to 53,000 by 2024, predicts the new station should serve the area through its 75-year lifespan.  The rescue and engine crews will be transferred from the Runyon Road station, which will be shut down. The department also will move its ladder truck with four firefighters from Station 53 on Mullinix Road to the new station.  Calls to businesses and apartment complexes along State Road 135 require the ladder truck, so that truck is being moved to the more central location, Cassin said.  Eight firefighters in three crews will be on duty at all times at the station. The new building, located on a one-acre site that the department purchased for $265,000, will have five bays, three of which face Olive Branch Road. The other two exit the rear of the building, requiring the trucks to circle around.

         The Runyon Road station was built in the 1950s. The department cut off maintenance funding to the station while the new one was being built, and it's been falling apart, Cassin said.  This winter, a door on the west side of the building rusted through, letting snow accumulate inside. The station is drafty with poor ventilation, requiring firefighters to don sweat shirts during winter months, Cox said. Most firefighters stay away from the TV in the day room during the coldest months, opting instead to occupy office space, he said.  The new station 51 features a training classroom and a commercial-grade kitchen, Cox said.  The department hasn't decided what to do with the Runyon Road building.  It could be used for storage, torn down and used for training space or sold, Cassin said. A decision is unlikely until at least late July, he said.  (Reprinted with permission from the Daily Journal)
 
   

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