The fire department operates three fire stations now on Germantown Road (152), Elk Creek Road (151) and Ohio 122 (153).
Volunteer stations 151 and 152 were built in the 1950s. Station 153 was built in 1998, and Madison Twp. took it over in 2006 from a private ambulance squad. At that time, renovations were made to accommodate a four-person on-site team.
But, Hall said, the lack of space, reduced number of volunteers and increased demand in calls for service have left the fire department in need of an upgrade.
The 8,556-person, rural township covers 36 square miles, and its aging population, winding roads and increase of those with four-wheelers has led to a high volume of critical calls, according to Lt. Justin Carroll.
Madison Twp. fire completed a total 1168 calls for service in 2025, including 997 EMS calls and 171 fire calls — a 7.32% increase in runs from 2024.
“It’s different level of care that happens in a community like this,” Carroll said.
“You can’t game-plan for one type of call and then rely on Trenton or Middletown or somebody else to come bail you out because they might be busy,” said Rep. Thomas Hall, R-Madison Twp., Kent Hall’s son who still completes runs with the fire department.
Though the new station will condense the number of stations from three to one, Kent Hall said the EMS service has ran from the central part of the township for 50 years.
For fire, “We’ll have people on station that will have an automatic response, so time delays will actually be better.”
The department currently has 50 people on its roster, including volunteers, but only four people (two fire and two EMS) are on-site at station 153 around the clock.
Kent Hall is hoping to bring on another onsite staffer at the new station.
“The volunteers are just going away,” Kent Hall said. “We used to house 20 volunteers, now we’re down to five or six people at each volunteer station. Everybody’s got different priorities ... but that’s why we’re moving to the future with running more people around the clock from the station.”
The fire department operates on a $2.2 million budget with $1 million spent on personnel, according to Kent Hall. Three previously passed levies account for 70% of its budget.
But, for the new building construction, the township has received a $1.75 million state grant and is applying a $2.5 million U.S. Department of Agriculture 30-year, 4.75% loan.
The township will make up the difference, according to Fiscal Officer Kim Lapensee.
Thomas Hall said the renovation of the three stations would have actually been more expensive than constructing one new station.
The sale of the three existing fire stations, which could bring in $900,000, would allow the township to refinance its loan in the future.
The township has also contracted Great Lakes Community Action Partnership to complete a USDA Environmental Report, according to township records.
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