Ward 10 Alderman, Ralph Hanauer, says he will not support the relocation of any Springfield firehouses unless a new one, No. 13, is built in his ward to address the needs of a long-underserved southwest side.
“Unfortunately,” Hanauer said, “there are a couple of Alderman who are wanting to play politics, and I think it’s a shame that they’re doing that. The time is now to do this. I think we’ll get it though. We’ve got a good group of aldermen that care about the whole city and not just their ward.”
Springfield Fire Chief, Brandon Blough (pictured with architect Roy Mangan), made a presentation on details of firehouses No. 6, 8, and what would be the new one, 13.
The cost for each build would be about $3.2 million, funds coming from the American Rescue Plan Act.
The area around which the new firehouse (No. 13) would be built is one of the few spots in the city where calls for service cannot currently be answered in under four minutes.