Earlier this year Mayor Karen Freeman Wilson appeared in the CBS television series “Undercover Boss.” While she used it to feature the city’s attributes and its hardworking people, she was reminded of the challenges faced from the employees’ perspective including the firefighters.
On Friday, October 13 the Mayor joined others at a ribbon cutting ceremony for the grand reopening of Fire Station #3. The fire station located at 1200 Roosevelt Street in the Tolleston community received major renovations and was open for public viewing after the ceremony until 3:00 p.m. that day.
Fire Station #3 had been closed for approximately six years. During the closure service calls were covered by Fire Station #4, at 25th and Madison or Station #9 at 7th and Clark Road. Like the other stations in Gary, Fire Station #3 has three fully staffed shifts. The personnel to staff the three shifts were the result of reassignments and included several promotions.
This is the first of several firehouses slated for renovation. The cost for this project was $200,000, taken from budgeted dollars. The Gary Fire Department received funding this year for various improvements including a $2.3 million appropriation to purchase five new fire trucks from the Common Council in February 2017. They also were awarded a $261,364 Federal Emergency Management Agency Assistance to Firefighters Grant this year.
Now the new station joins the others in the overall increased coverage of Gary.
