Fire District - Study Highlights - November, 2005

Study Highlights

Cut the number of firehouses in the old city limits to 17 from 22 over 15 years.

Consolidate six firehouses into three - two new ones and one that is either renovated or rebuilt.

Move three firehouses to new locations.

Renovate or rebuild three firehouses in their current locations.

Estimated cost for each new firehouse: $1.8 million.

Retain eight of the existing firehouses.

ON THE WEB

Go to courier-journal.com to check out a map with pop-up information on current firehouses and recommended changes. See a gallery of historical photos, including one dating to 1874. Also, participate in a community forum on the plan and cast your vote in a poll.
Fire chief and administration officials will meet with firefighters in each of the 22 firehouses over the next two months to get their views on the study.

A Neighborhood Fire Advisory Panel made up of representatives of neighborhood groups and the Metro Council will meet to discuss the study.

Metro Mayor Jerry Abramson will present his plan in the spring as part of his 2006- 07 budget proposal.

An undated photo shows Louisville's No. 2 Hook & Ladder Company on Hancock Street, south of Market Street.

Above, UofL Photo Archives, R.G. Potter Collection; Firefighters posed with their equipment outside the station at 1328 S. Preston St. in 1915.

Engine Company No. 7, near Sixth and York streets, was shown in this undated photo.

UofL Photo Archives, R.G. Potter Collection; Engine Company No. 6, shown in a 1874 photo, was on Portland Avenue between 24th and 25th streets.

Metro Mayor Jerry Abramson spoke about the proposed changes yesterday.

Photos by Pam Spaulding, The Courier-Journal; Acting Capt. Victor Korfhage looked at a map of the area around the fire station at 2425 Portland Ave. "There are a lot of fires in Portland, we're not down here just messing around. There's a lot of need. In three or four minutes, it's over, let's be realistic. If they move this station, they've got nobody."

Engines went on a run yesterday from the firehouse at 1135 W. Jefferson St. Metro Mayor Jerry Abramson said, "It is not the number of stations you have in a community but how they are strategically situated and staffed..that truly creates the best fire protection system."

The firehouse at 821 S. Sixth St., which was built in 1871, needs repairs and would be closed under the proposal. Metro Councilman Kelly Downard, R-16th, said he plans to review the study and wonders if proposed cuts will leave the city short on service.

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