08/08/2026
This one has been a long time coming.
Fire Station 82 has served Westfield for more than 30 years. This week, we finally broke ground on the reconstruction of a station that has given a whole lot to this community—and it is absolutely time we give something back to the firefighters who call it home.
I have been part of this project in some form since shortly after I was elected to the Westfield Washington Township Board in 2017. And there have been hurdles. Lots of them. This was a situation that really hadn’t been handled before, and figuring out how the Township and City could work together took time, creativity, persistence and a whole lot of people willing to keep pushing.
While Station 82 belongs to Westfield Washington Township, the reality is that its location and the runs made from this station serve the entire City of Westfield. This has always needed to be a community project, and that is exactly what it became.
Huge credit goes to Danielle Carey Tolan for starting this adventure and to my fellow board members at the time, David Gill and Gary Southerland, who saw the need and helped begin the work toward a solution.
Both David and Gary have since passed away, which made this groundbreaking a little bittersweet. They didn’t get to stand there and see the shovels hit the dirt, but they were absolutely part of getting us to this moment. I am grateful I had the opportunity to serve alongside them, and it feels important to honor the part they played in the story of Station 82.
Thank you to our current Trustee, Jamie Mills, and my fellow board members Erica Strahm, and Jim Ake for continuing to see the need and the vision and finding a way to move it forward with long-term planning and financial responsibility.
There are also some pieces of this project that I just love.
If you know Station 82, you probably know about the Ghost of 82, signified on Engine 382. 👻 It’s part of the personality and history of this station, and I am really hoping the Ghost remains when our firefighters move back into their new home. Some traditions just need to stay.
And while Station 82 is being rebuilt, our firefighters obviously still need somewhere to work and live. The Township purchased and revamped three portable buildings and tiny homes, which are now located at Cool Creek Park. Hamilton County Parks partnered with us to provide the land for the temporary station for the next 12–18 months.
That collaboration saved taxpayer dollars—and it gets even better.
Those buildings aren’t expected to simply be tossed aside when Station 82 is finished. There is already work happening to find ways to reuse them in our community to help underserved populations. I can’t wait to see where that goes, so keep an eye out for that story.
One of the coolest parts of the groundbreaking was seeing four former Westfield fire chiefs there, along with so many retired firefighters. There are decades of history, service, stories and people connected to Station 82. Seeing so many of them together as we celebrated what comes next was pretty incredible.
Thank you to Ken Alexander, Randy Zentz, Mayor Scott Willis and Hagerman for the tremendous amount of behind-the-scenes work it has taken to get here.
But most importantly, thank you to our firefighters.
Chief Rob Gaylor, Captain Howe and all of the men and women who serve Westfield at every hour of every day—you deserve a station that supports the work you do and the way you serve this community. There really aren’t enough words for what you all mean to us.
This project has taken years. Different elected officials. Different boards. Township, City, County and Parks. A whole bunch of problem solving. And a lot of people who were willing to keep working together until we figured it out.
This is how government should work.
And after all these years, it was pretty amazing cool to finally use a wood mallet to break a plastic modeled wall (truth) and get this project going. ❤️🚒
