Greenwood plans Station 95, adds firefighters and equipment as recruitment expands

Mayor Mark W. Myers outlined several public‑safety investments at a State of the City fireside chat in Greenwood, saying the city has grown its fire force and added equipment and programs to respond to population growth.

"When I started in office in 2012, we had 30 full time firefighters. I'm proud to say that now we have 88 full time firefighters," Myers said, and described a joint fire academy with Decatur Township and Speedway that logged roughly 12,000 combined training hours. To broaden recruitment, Myers said the city relaxed some prior entry requirements so applicants need only pass a written and physical exam and have a high‑school diploma, which expanded the applicant pool to more than 300 candidates.

Myers said Station 95, on the city's southeast side, is under construction and scheduled for completion in 2026; the project includes a separate training facility and a burn building that will be available for regional departments and police SWAT teams. "Station 95 is something that we've needed," he said.

He also described equipment purchases: "we were able to purchase two new fire engines, or pumper trucks as we call them, at about $1,000,000 dollars apiece," and a new rear‑drive ladder tiller to improve access on narrow streets. On policing, Myers reported the department has 82 officer positions, added a narcotics detection and apprehension canine named Zorro, started a drug‑interdiction team and a four‑officer drone program, and invested in an upgraded training center with an indoor firing range and virtual‑reality training.

Myers credited outside grants and a retired officer now serving as a civilian grant writer for bringing in funds for surveillance equipment, ballistic vests and portable breath tests. He said these investments are intended to keep emergency response levels and training robust despite fiscal pressure from state tax changes.