The Floyd County Fire Territory has broken ground on the new Station 4 at 2511 Budd Road, a stretch of southern New Albany Township that currently lacks an immediate first-responder response.
According to WLKY, the project has been in development for years and will be funded using previously collected taxpayer dollars along with proceeds from the sale of unused equipment. The station is expected to begin operating in late spring or early summer 2027, the outlet reports. Until then, the closest engine to the area comes from Charlestown Road at County Line Road and Georgetown, according to Tim Franklin, and that response has taken roughly 15 to 20 minutes to reach southern New Albany residents.
Fire official Scott Sears said the area will finally get 24/7 fire service once the station is up and running, and that the new facility will cut down on those lingering response times, per the same WLKY account. The roughly $2 million project will involve demolishing an existing brick building on the property and adding a larger facility onto a structure that's already there, the station's report notes.
A Long-Vacant Volunteer Site Gets New Life
The Budd Road property formerly housed a volunteer fire department, but it had sat unused as an active station for several years, per the WLKY report. The site also sits near the decommissioned Gallagher Power Plant.
Once finished, the new station will include living quarters for its crew, along with three firefighters and an engine company assigned to it, the article notes. The facility will also house a brush truck and a small rescue pumper. Officials hope the station will eventually be able to accommodate emergency medical services personnel as well, per the same WLKY account.
Part of a Bigger Countywide Overhaul
Station 4's groundbreaking is the latest visible step in a multi-year restructuring of fire protection across Floyd County. The Floyd County Fire Territory officially launched operations on January 1, 2026, after the Georgetown Township Fire Protection District and the New Albany Township Fire Protection District voted to consolidate their emergency operations into a single agency, according to the Floyd County Fire Territory.
That merger followed a turbulent stretch for New Albany Township's fire coverage. In May 2024, the township's fire board terminated its longstanding service contract with New Chapel Fire Company, prompting firefighters to form the local New Albany Township Fire Department ahead of the eventual countywide merger. WHAS11 reported that former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel’s organization had a contract paying more than $1 million per year and $7.2 million total.
Rising Taxes and an Expanding Roster
Standing up the new territory wasn't free. Establishing the Floyd County Fire Territory created a $6.9 million first-year operating budget, up from the combined $5.8 million budget the two founding township districts had previously run, and was estimated to raise property taxes for fire protection by 15.6% in New Albany Township, per WHAS11's reporting.
In January 2025, WHAS11 reported that the territory had around 39 staff and planned to grow to 54. The expansion is authorized under Indiana Code § 36-8-19, which allows local government units to establish joint fire protection territories with dedicated tax levies and equipment replacement funds, according to Justia Law.
More Townships Signing On
The territory isn't done growing. In March 2026, the Highlander Fire Protection District — which covers Greenville and Lafayette townships, including Floyds Knobs — voted unanimously to join the Floyd County Fire Territory effective January 1, 2027, WHAS11 reported, a development Hoodline previously covered.
Once Station 4 is complete and Highlander Fire joins the fold in 2027, the Floyd County Fire Territory will operate six fully staffed fire stations serving every Floyd County resident living outside New Albany's city limits, according to the Floyd County Fire Territory. County officials and fire leaders have also been evaluating plans since late 2025 to build a unified, fire-based emergency medical services system integrated directly into the expanded territory by 2027, per EMS1.
