“This means that the city is utilizing those tax dollars to effectively support the Springfield Fire Rescue Division, which in turn is immediately given back to the citizens,” he said. “This will enhance our ability to respond, it will carry more equipment, be more efficient and allow us to serve them better.”
King said push-in ceremonies date back to the 1830s in the fire service, and are a way of “connecting our rich history to modern times.”
“That’s where we look at horse-drawn fire apparatus and how they had to push the fire wagons back into the station because the horses wouldn’t back up,” he said. “That tradition of having to push that in has translated to when we get new fire apparatus, the first time it goes into service, is that we push it back in.”
Fire station construction
In recent years the city has begun the process of building three to four new fire stations.
The one that’s open so far, at 2040 S. Limestone St., was a joint project with Clark State College to enable emergency services training and classes on site.
Construction on a second new station, on the east side at 3925 S. Charleston Pike, has made significant progress since a March 2024 groundbreaking. There are hopes it will open in April.
The third station will be located at the former site of The Villager Inn, 1715 W. North Street, and will face North Thompson Avenue. The city broke ground on the site in January.
A fourth planned fire station was put on hold last year due to increases in construction prices, city officials previously said.
Impact on the city
King said getting new fire houses and equipment shows a continued investment strategy by city commissioners and other city leadership. He said it helps not just fire rescue division members, but the community as a whole.
“It’s going to put our fire stations in better locations so that we can have a better response time to serve them, getting better apparatus that’s going to allow us to respond more efficiently and effectively to support our citizens from our community,” he said.
Things are on schedule with the fire station buildings and apparatus coming in, King said.
“The continued investment that the city is making with us is also an investment in our recruitment and retention of our members, showing that they matter, every dollar directly translates to each member and the division that the city is spending on this infrastructure,” he added.
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