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Indianapolis breaks ground on replacement Fire Station 20 in Little Flower
Summary
Mayor Joe Hoxett, Fire Chief Ernest Malone and neighborhood leaders marked the groundbreaking for a new Indianapolis Fire Department Station 20, which city officials said will replace a building first staffed in 1952 and sit roughly 800 feet south of the existing site.
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hoxett and Fire Chief Ernest Malone joined city-county councilors, neighborhood leaders and firefighters on the Near East Side Monday to break ground on a replacement for Indianapolis Fire Department (IFD) Station 20 in the Little Flower neighborhood. "Today, we break ground on new IFD station 20," Hoxett said.
City officials said the current Station 20 has been in service for more than 70 years. Chief Ernest Malone said the station was built and staffed beginning in the fall of 1952 and has served the neighborhood for decades. Malone said the new facility will be sited about 800 feet south of the existing building and will accommodate larger modern apparatus and updated community space.
The new station will receive additional apparatus, Malone said, and the department plans to keep the current firefighters assigned to Station 20. "We're gonna put new apparatus in there. We're gonna keep the same firefighters because they're pretty darn good," Malone said, adding the department will deploy two new pieces of equipment to the station.
City-County Councilor Andy Nielsen, whose district borders the site, praised IFD's planning and administrative work and framed the replacement as both a public-safety and fiscal priority. Councilor Jesse Brown, whose district also includes the station's service area, recalled personal experiences with Station 20 and credited firefighters with rapid responses. Brown said station crews reach scenes within four minutes more than 90% of the time, a performance metric he cited as a reason to invest in facilities and equipment.
Joanna Harris, president of the Little Flower Neighborhood Association, said the station represents "progress, safety, and community spirit," and noted the project grew from neighborhood meetings that began last year. Council members and neighborhood leaders said the station's design incorporated local feedback and includes a third vehicle bay to accommodate anticipated future needs.
The event was ceremonial; no votes or formal policy actions were taken. Speakers emphasized community partnership, the age and historic role of the existing station, the planned location shift of roughly 800 feet south of the current site, and the department's plan to add apparatus while retaining current personnel. Construction timing, total project cost and funding sources were not specified at the ceremony.
Officials and residents concluded the program with a ceremonial shovel turn to mark the start of construction.
