Fire Station Move Is One Piece Done for Mass Ave. Development

INDIANAPOLIS – For the past 36 years, the Indianapolis Fire Department has occupied a converted building near the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and New Jersey Street. Now, a push for redevelopment of the area has forced IFD to move their headquarters and Fire Station 7 to a new facility a few blocks north.

The new IFD building off Fort Wayne Avenue was built as part of the Mass Ave. redevelopment. The $7 million building was financed using tax incrementing financing (TIF) funds.

Station 7 Captain Ron Kautsky said the new station’s more open layout will help improve response times.

“Now everything is much closer to the bay and much more efficient and laid out so hopefully it will cut down our times,” Kautsky said. “Not that we were slow getting out before, but I think that this will make it a little bit easier to shave a few seconds off and that can make a big difference in an emergency sometimes.”

Firefighters moved into the new facility on Nov. 23.