Construction on Cincinnati's newest fire station is already underway in Westwood. A groundbreaking ceremony was held Thursday.
Officials say it will improve public safety and residents say they hope it will spur other economic development.
The new Station 35 will sit on Harrison Avenue near the intersection of McHenry.
The 18,000 square foot facility will have 4 bays for equipment and will replace the 105-year-old location about a mile and a half away.
Cincinnati Fire Chief Richard Braun said the current station is busy with 4,000 runs last year and the majority of those were for medical calls.
He said the bigger station will allow for additional equipment to handle the volume.
“We send a lot of the medics that are around here into this area to take care of the citizens here,” Braun said. “Whereas once this is finished we’ll be able to move a medic into this station and then they’ll get a quicker response from their transport vehicles.”
The new fire station is being built on land that used to be a dilapidated apartment complex. It was torn down a few years ago as part of a clean-up effort in Westwood.
Community Council President Joel Kimmet said the new city building could lead to more growth.
“That in two other cases around Cincinnati where they built a new firehouse, it’s really spurred up a lot of economic growth in the immediate area,” Kimmet said. “There’s new businesses popping up, new houses, lots of new construction and activity. And so that’s really great because we hope the same thing will happen here in this area.”
The new fire station is expected to open next year.
