Here’s where Wichita plans to build the first of several new fire stations
Plans are coming together for the Wichita Fire Department to build its next station in southwest Wichita.
The City Council will vote Tuesday on a proposal to purchase a 2.49-acre property at the northwest corner of South Maize Road and West Pawnee Avenue for $475,000 from Randy and Alma Pauly, who own a trucking company.
The property was not advertised on the public market, according to the city staff report. Fire Chief Tammy Snow previously told the council in October that the asking price on the property was $400,000.
The city plans to buy the land at a rate of $4.38 per square foot. There is currently no project timeline for construction of the new station.
The council in 2023 approved $1 million for land acquisition and architectural designs for new fire stations. The capital improvement plan calls for spending up to $45 million over the next decade for the construction of as many as nine new stations.
Wichita has 22 fire stations, but no new facilities have been built since 2009. In southwest and northwest Wichita in particular, department officials say WFD has consistently struggled to reach emergencies within four minutes, the National Fire Protection Association standard.
Optimal locations for the new stations are being determined through a quantitative analysis of emergency incident responses.
Snow has said the ideal location for a station in northwest Wichita is at 29th and Ridge. Other options include near 35th and Ridge to the west of Saint Catherine of Siena Catholic Church or at 29th and “about midway between Ridge and Hoover,” she said in October.
