By Nathan Ryder - bio | email | Twitter
Posted by Noah Stubbs - email
EVANSVILLE, IN (WFIE) - The Evansville Fire Department is shutting down Station 10 on East Columbia and Station 14 on South Willow, combining them with other stations.
It's a move designed to boost coverage and efficiency but neighbors even some firefighters are skeptical.
While the mayor and Fire Chief Keith Jarboe stand by their decisions and say it's for the good of the city, many don't understand the thinking behind it and don't like it one bit.
"I've lived here since '56," neighbor Lou Jones said. "It's been a long time."
Just around the corner of Hose House 10 lives Lou Jones.
As long as she's lived in the Jacobsville neighborhood, that fire station has always been there for her and her neighbors.
"It used to be across the street at the other building across the street there at Columbia and then they tore the service station down and built the fire station in this side," Jones said.
Whatever side of Columbia it's been on, Jones says the firefighters have been a huge benefit to her neighborhood.
"It's been great," Jones said. "Something happens around here, they're there for you."
City Councilwoman Wendy Bredhold, who represents the Third Ward, released a letter voicing her opposition to the city's decision.
"It's a very dense area," Bredhold said. "The houses are very close together. There is a mix of older homes and lots of businesses and those homes that are closer together like that are at a higher risk for fire danger. It's important that we have quicker response times in this neighborhood."
Four other fire stations will pick up the runs in the area Hose House 10 normally covers but city officials maintain response times will stay within the four minute response window fire departments are held to nationally.
It may fit in what's considered an acceptable response time but it won't be the same response time that businesses and people in this area could expect now," Bredhold said. "It will be a longer response time."
But Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel says he sticks by the decision.
"There's a lot of duplicative fire effort throughout much of the city and there were some areas of the city that didn't have as good a protection," Mayor Weinzapfel said. "So what they were suggesting is that there should be a better deployment of the resources that we have."
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