Vote in WHAS11 poll to save Old Louisville firehouse

[Robin Garr]

You may have seen the news coverage about the firehouse that the Mayor wants to close in Old Louisville. The community is fighting back with everything they've got. An injunction has been filed and this morning the KY House passed a resolution directing the Mayor not to close the fire house. Please, if you are inclined to help, vote in the WHAS poll. The poll results will likely be quoted on tonight's newscast. (In case it isn't clear, the community is looking for "no" votes.)
Click here for poll

You may have seen the news coverage about the firehouse that the Mayor wants to close in Old Louisville. The community is fighting back with everything they've got. An injunction has been filed and this morning the KY House passed a resolution directing the Mayor not to close the fire house. Please, if you are inclined to help, vote in the WHAS poll. The poll results will likely be quoted on tonight's newscast. (In case it isn't clear, the community is looking for "no" votes.)
Click here for poll

If the firehouse stays what goes? A library? I think I'd like to know that before I form too strong of an opinion. As someone who has had to make some tough cost cutting decisions, I can tell you that the old addage, "be careful what you wish for" applies in these situations.

For those that don't already know, this particular firehouse is the oldest continuously functioning firehouse in the United States.

Also Mayor Jerry told a delegation from Old Louisville that the closing IS NOT related to the budget shortfall. No equipment gets sold, no firefighters lose their jobs. The only possible cost savings is the utilities, and only partial because some heat will need to be kept on so the pipes don't freeze.

The firehouse has been brought up to code in the last couple of years: new windows, asbestos remediation and a new exhaust system so the idling trucks do not pour exhaust into crew quarters.

So saving our fire house will not hurt your library.

Also, the fire dept in the Urban Services District (USD) is paid for by our USD taxes. ONLY USD residents pay these taxes, based on property values. We've checked and with the PVA's robust reassessments, property values, and therefore taxes received, have remained quite stable for a number of years. In fact this firehouse's expenses are FULLY FUNDED through the end of this fiscal year.

And BTW, we pay 4 times the amount of taxes as suburban residents do.

Just sayin'.

So what's their reason for closing it?

So what's their reason for closing it?

The TriData (company name) study of 2005 recommended closing of the fire station, largely because it is an old building. Helloooo - it's historic. Since 2005, however, the problems with the physical structure have been remediated except for the fact that there are no quarters for female crew.

There is also the assertion that Old Louisville doesn't need as many firehouses as it has. We maintain that we need at least as many as we have:
-old homes are 2-3 stories
-filled with lovely, but old, dry wood coated in varnish
-set close together (sometimes as close as 6 feet)
-and accessed by narrow alleys
-because many houses set back from the street and on an elevation, ladder trucks can't get to the second and third floors
-our houses are surrounded by large.very large trees, impeding access
-we have outdoor power lines further impeded access by truck
-we are the most densely populated area of the city
-our density comes from many (like 8 or 9) high rise buildings that house the elderly and infirm
-we have more than our fair share of halfway and rehab houses for persons with various abuse issues that can keep them from responding appropriately in a fire emergency
-we have a number of schools and homes for the physically and mentally challenged which also necessitates a different, more careful emergency response

Our little fire house made 2,085 run last year. Reportedly the safe standard for the # of runs is 1500. So they're working at capacity +.

And the Mayor thinks we don't really need them.

Good luck to the citizens trying to keep the firehouse from closing. As I'm finding as part of the Friends of Otter Creek Park group trying to reopen Otter Creek Park, it's very difficult to get answers to fairly basic questions, especially when it comes to Louisville's budget. Fortunately the residents trying to save the firehouse already have community organizations in place that have taken action -- whereas with OCP we're organizing a group from scratch (because, of course, nobody thought that closure of the park would ever happen).

Our little fire house made 2,085 run last year. Reportedly the safe standard for the # of runs is 1500. So they're working at capacity +.

And the Mayor thinks we don't really need them.[/quote]

Does that include medical runs or just fire runs?

That includes all runs--every time the truck rolled out of the doors. With our concentration of high rise facilities for the elderly, a significant portion of their runs are medical.

Yes, that is the little firehouse is a workhorse. In my 10 years in LFR, that house was constantly busy. Another thought, that loses a potential standby for EMS, too. Old Louisville was my district for many years and I agree that ANY loss of fire service can be critical to life and property. It is amazing to me that the TriData Study they are using as an excuse is being “cherry picked” on the recommendations. A company that has no roots in Louisville does a study of our fire service, uses computer modeling to decide what houses should be closed. It does not take into account the one way streets, the railroad tracks or Beargrass Creek that affect response times. It was recommended that one of the houses on Frankfort Ave. be closed too, but one is being replaced. The one near the Mayor’s home is sacred (sorry Robin - I know it is yours too!). Just like the furlough shell game (a whole ‘nother rant!), this is BS. He let the firehouses fall into disrepair and then got PO’d when the FFs complained. I hope the neighborhood is successful, but realize there WILL be consequences for someone if you are…..

We're finding out about consequences, Suzi. We've lost at least 5 expert witnesses on fire fighting (first they agreed to testify and then a day later "reconsidered") and an amazing number of other experts on urban issues as well. Almost no one will speak out.

On Friday morning, the KY House of Representative passed Resolution 27, directing the Mayor NOT to close any firehouses, and particularly NOT to close Engine Co. No 7. It appears that the Resolution will be ignored, as was Old Louisville's request to Chief Frederick under Open Records for the data on the model used to determine fire response modeling.

[Robin Garr]

It appears that the Resolution will be ignored, as was Old Louisville's request to Chief Frederick under Open Records for the data on the model used to determine fire response modeling.

Those resolutions carry no legal weight. The Open Records Act, however, should do so. What a shame that we don't have a skeptical, inquiring newspaper any more ...

I guess WFPL is not helping - I heard them report this morning that (contrary to what Leah said) closing that firehouse will save the city over $500,000 in the current fiscal year.

You all have my support. Apart from the matter of the building's historical significance, this is yet another prime example of the government's complete disregard for money that helped bring about these budget shortfalls in the first place.

They spent all of this money to bring it up to code, and now suddenly they're just going to close it. Seems strikingly similar to their backtracking on the smoking ban issue. After local restaurants has spent thousands of dollars on separate ventilation systems, they change their minds and ban smoking completely. This is just one more reason not to trust the government.