Middletown opens four new fire stations, boosts police presence and plans police substation

Mayor Elizabeth Slamka said this year the Middletown Division of Fire completed four new fire stations and welcomed Brian Wright as the new fire chief. "If you have not yet visited the firehouses, our firefighters are proud of their new buildings in the community," the mayor said, noting the stations include updated facilities such as separate changing areas intended to be friendlier to women.

The mayor said the city expanded the Middletown Division of Police to 88 officers, the department's highest level in years, and has increased visible patrols across the city. "It's nearly impossible to drive from 1 end of the city to the other without passing a Middletown police cruiser," Slamka said.

She also described the city's investment in automatic license plate readers (ALPRs), commonly called flock cameras, including portable units used downtown and at events. Officials said the devices have aided investigations and may deter some criminal activity; the mayor said the city expects future data to show any effect.

City council voted to convert the old firehouse on Dixie Highway into a police substation to reduce response times on the East End; the mayor described a drop in response from "more than 10 minutes" from the city building to "only 2 minutes or less" for that part of the city. The mayor framed the substation as a step to make policing more efficient and to increase neighborhood safety.

The mayor announced open houses for two of the new stations. Stations 81 and 85 will have public open houses on Wednesday, Oct. 8: Station 81 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., and Station 85 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., she said. No formal council vote details (movers, seconds, or roll-call tallies) were provided in the speech; the actions described were reported by the mayor as completed or authorized by city council.