GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Cutting down on response times. That's the plan for the Grand Rapids Fire Department and their coverage of the southeast side of the city.
The groundbreaking of a new fire station at Kendall St. and Kalamazoo Ave. is a way fire officials hope to accomplish that goal.
It's a 12,600-square-foot, two-bay facility designed to serve Grand Rapids' Third Ward for at least the next 75 years.
The construction of Station 12 broke ground Tuesday afternoon and will cost around $8.1 million dollars. It is funded through a grant from the state of Michigan.
Fire Chief Brad Brown said the main objective of Station 12 is to respond quicker to emergency calls.
Right now, it takes firefighters about two to three minutes longer to respond to an emergency near Station 12 than in more centralized parts of the city.
"We're adding two to three minutes, which may not seem like a lot, but a fire doubles every 30 seconds," said Fire Chief Brad Brown. "There are a lot of apartments, some close residences down here, and when we get a structure fire, three minutes literally can mean the difference between life and death."
Station 12 will also hold a community room, and a workout area for staff, and will have firefighters stationed 24 hours a day.
Construction should wrap up by September 2025, and when complete, it will have 12 personnel assigned for a three-engine crew.
There are also plans to build another fire station, Station 10, on Division Ave., and a training and operations facility off of Pannell St., both in Grand Rapids.
