And that process could begin next year with further data gathering and analysis.
“We don’t have a firm plan. We have to study it and move it where it makes more sense — where it would be better suited and where we could cover more of the city within four to six minutes,’’ Lakamp said.
“We need to talk with the GIS guy (to integrate data with maps) and the city manager to look at what the next years look like and work it into the capital improvement budget.”
Opened in 1978, the station was expanded in 2002. The 7,200-square-foot structure sits on 1 acre of land, has 3,000 square feet of apparatus storage, an inadequate kitchen, dayroom, and dorm facilities for 10.
It is the city’s smallest station. The Ohio 4 station has 11,400 square feet of space sitting on 2 acres. Fire headquarters on Nilles Road has 12,500 square feet of space.
One pumper, one heavy rescue unit and two ambulances — one is a reserve unit — are housed there.
“We’ve changed a lot since it was opened,’’ Lakamp said. “When it opened most volunteers lived near the station. That firehouse was never built for people to live there.”
There is not enough space to house turncoats, boots and gear firefighters wear — when it was built firefighters responded from their homes and kept their gear there. There is no training room either.
Should the fire station be relocated — right now it’s a half-mile from the city’s southern border with Hamilton County — adjustments may have to be made to the other two fire districts.
Right now, personnel from the Winton Road station respond to calls for service in their district in four minutes or less 82.35 percent of the time, according to 2025 data. The recommended time from the National Fire Protection Association is 90 percent, Lakamp said.
That compares to only 61.9 percent for the Ohio 4 – Station 32 response and 95 percent for the Nilles Road – Station 31 average response time.
Those times could worsen as the number of calls for fire, emergency medical services, and other calls, continues to increase, Lakamp said. That’s especially true of the Ohio 4 station because of the congestion at certain times of the day, slowing response time, Lakamp explained.
Between 2020 and 2024, calls for service increased from 6 ,211 to 7,973. The city is on track to top 8,000 calls this year, Lakamp said.
Last year’s data shows there were 2,764 calls for service in the Nilles Road station’s 7.3 square miles. There were 2,864 calls in the Ohio 4 station’s 8.1 square miles. The Winton Road station received 2,380 calls in its 5.5 square mile district.
With the passage of the 2023 fire levy, the department was able to complete the transition to a full-time department with 71 authorized personnel including the chief and three deputy chiefs. There are two openings Lakamp said he plans to fill early next year.
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