City and neighborhood leaders gathered for a groundbreaking ceremony for a replacement Indianapolis Fire Department Station 20 in the Little Flower neighborhood, where officials said the new facility will sit roughly 800 feet south of the existing station and include new apparatus to support local firefighters.

The project replaces a station that officials said began service in 1952 and has served the Near East Side for more than seven decades. Mayor Joe Hovstad and Fire Chief Ernest Malone said the new facility aims to improve response capacity and provide community space while retaining the station’s current personnel.

“This update has been a long time coming,” Mayor Joe Hovstad said at the ceremony. “We at the city are proud to be expanding our investment in this neighborhood, in our neighborhoods, and most particularly in the people that protect those neighborhoods.”

Chief Ernest Malone said Station 20 first opened in the fall of 1952 and described the decision-making process that led to the selected site. “After an exhaustive … we ended up about 800 feet south of where the current station is,” Malone said, adding that the department will move two new pieces of apparatus into the replacement building and keep the current firefighters assigned to the station.

City-County Councilor Andy Gilson (District 14) praised the department’s administrative planning and said investing in stations and equipment is part of a long-term fiscal strategy. “Our first responsibility is to the human capital in IFD,” Gilson said, referring to Indianapolis Fire Department personnel and to Local 416, the firefighters’ local union mentioned at the event.

City-County Councilor Jesse Brown (District 13) said Station 20’s crews are noted for rapid response in the neighborhood. “They are on the scene within 4 minutes over 90% of the time,” Brown said, noting his personal connections to the area and to the station’s history. Chief Malone acknowledged the station’s long service and the role of its current house captain, Joe Marsh.

Joanna Harris, president of the Little Flower Neighborhood Association, said the new station represents more than a building. “This fire station is more than just bricks and mortar. It’s a symbol of our shared commitment to protecting one another,” Harris said, thanking city officials and residents who participated in planning.

Officials did not announce a construction timeline or project budget at the ceremony. The event concluded with a ceremonial groundbreaking where attendees were invited to participate in the initial dig.