LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville's Hillview area is expanding fast with new homes and businesses. The area's fire department is growing to meet that need and better respond to emergencies.
Officials held a groundbreaking ceremony at Fern Creek Fire & EMS Station 73 in Highview. The station will soon be expanded to include a bunkhouse with sleeping quarters, new restrooms, a workout facility, laundry room and more. Other areas of the firehouse will also get remodeled.
The addition of this staffed company will significantly reduce the response times in and around the area, which has experienced significant growth in more on the way.
Jerry Kiper has experienced that growth firsthand.
"The construction is unreal around here," Kiper said.
That's a far cry from the way it was in 2001, when Highview resident Teri Blair moved to the community.
"When we came out here to look where the neighborhood was going to be, there was a cow in the road," Blair said.
She and other residents have seen a lot of change in the once quiet area since then, including construction of new neighborhoods.
"The houses are needed," Blair said.
"Now they're talking about putting apartments or a Kroger up on Beulah Church Road," Kiper said.
He has been worried that the community's emergency services and infrastructure won't be able to keep up.
"We ain't got enough police, we ain't got enough roads," Kiper said. "It's just crazy how they want to expand this place."
Fern Creek Fire Chief Nathan Mulvey said Station 73, which is less than five minutes from Kiper's home, will be able to meet those needs.
"This is building the future, of this community, right here at this firehouse," Mulvey said at the groundbreaking.
Mulvey said this station will get 18 more full-time staff members. The new amenities will help accommodate them without costing taxpayers more money.
This expansion will cut response times when it matters most, and Kiper is glad to hear that.
"We need all the resources we can get," he said.
"It will probably make me feel secure," Blair agreed.
Officials expect to host a ribbon cutting for the expansion sometime in summer 2025.
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