The Pike Township fire station on 86th Street is the department’s hub in the northeast part of the township.
Station 63 houses a firetruck, ambulance and a foam trailer used to extinguish larger fires caused by fuel and other hazardous materials.
But as important as it is, the station is nearing the end of its service life. The department’s chief says it’s too old to remodel again, so it’s time to replace it. A new station is expected to cost about $12 million.
“We’ve been saving money for this project,” said Wayne Township Fire Department Chief Jeff Beam. “It’s going to support firefighter health and safety by providing a modern fire station designed in accordance with current (National Fire Protection Association) standards. It also eliminates some operational limitations that we have with the current station.”
The department looked at five potential locations for a new Station 63, but is seriously considering 8450 N. Payne Road, several hundred feet south of the current station location at 4009 W. 86th St.
Not everyone is on board. Some residents have concerns about what a relocation could mean for the surrounding community, including changes in traffic and potential road construction.
Dozens of residents attended the July 23 meeting of the Pike Township Board to ask Beam questions about the new station.
Why Pike Township needs a new fire station
The station was built in 1978 to house the township’s then-volunteer fire department. It’s been in service for nearly half a century, but Beam said its design is inefficient and is expensive to maintain.
The station handles about a fifth of the township’s emergency calls. In 2025 alone, Station 63 responded to 4,921 calls for help. The department has four other fire stations.
According to Beam, the station was remodeled in 1988, 2001 and 2020, but the building still has many deficiencies.
For one, it’s small.
“Our current facility is about 14,000 square feet. Almost 5,000 square feet of that is devoted to circulation, structure, and mechanicals,” Beam said.
That gives firefighters little room to dedicate to firefighting.
According to Beam, the bays are 14 feet wide, which is smaller than the National Fire Protection Association’s recommended 18 feet. The bay is also 40 feet deep, only giving firefighters about two feet of space in front of and behind the 36-foot-long fire truck to move equipment.
The building’s layout could also be exposing firefighters to contaminants found on firefighters’ gear, he said.
National Fire Protection Association standards call for personal protective equipment to be stored in an enclosed, well-ventilated area to prevent exposure to contaminants and promote firefighter safety.
But, due to space restrictions, their turnout gear is stored in the apparatus bay where firefighters and other personnel frequently have to be.
“Occupational cancer remains one of the most significant health concerns that faces today’s fire service,” Beam said. “Research has demonstrated that firefighters face an elevated risk of developing certain cancers due to repeated exposure to products of combustion and other hazardous contaminants that we encounter throughout our careers.”
Potential sites for a new Station 63
The property on North Payne Road is owned by New Hope of Indiana, an organization that helps people with disabilities.
“The owners are receptive to a sale. They have about three to four acres that are available and would be a good size for us,” Beam said.
The site is about 900 feet from Station 63 and has direct access to Payne Road.
Beam said an environmental study was performed on the site and no issues were found.
Before the property is the department’s official pick for a new station site, officials must perform more due diligence, including its own environmental assessment, property appraisal, financial impact review and a traffic study.
The other options, discarded for a variety of reasons from environmental hazards to cost to too-small roads, were near a Kinder Morgan natural gas plant at 4686 W. 86th St., a piece of land on Vincennes Circle and the property next to Station 63, at 3901 W. 86th St.
It also nixed a plan to demolish the current station and build a new one in the same spot due to concerns about housing for the station’s fire truck and other equipment.
What residents had to say
Mary Wise, who lives nearby, wanted to know what safeguards were in place to prevent cost overruns.
“When we’re building things, sometimes there’s a cost that comes over the amount that was approved. Are we going to make sure that any amount is brought back to the board for approval for additional expenses?” Wise asked Beam.
Beam said an appraisal will be conducted in the coming weeks and will take about three weeks to complete. The findings will then be presented to the township board for approval.
Pike Township residents Mary Wise, Jason Compton and David Latimore ask Fire Department Chief Jeff Beam questions during a Pike Township board meeting July 23, 2026.
Jason Compton and David Latimore wanted to know whether the construction of a station on Payne Road would require roadwork.
An emergency access traffic study would determine whether that’s the case, Beam said, but he doesn’t expect much to change on Payne Road except the addition of road access directly in front of a new fire station.
“We travel Payne Road today. Relocating the fire station there doesn’t change the amount of time that we will go south on Payne Road,” he said.
What’s next?
Beam said the next steps for the fire department will be to undertake a due diligence on the site consisting of two independent appraisals, a financial impact review, a property survey, environmental site assessment and emergency access study.
That will take several weeks to accomplish once the department finds a contractor.
Once the due diligence is completed, the department will create a purchase agreement that would have to be approved by the township board.
That could happen as soon as the board’s next meeting, which is scheduled for Aug. 26.
See the documents associated with the new fire station, including Beam’s presentation to the board.
The July 23 Pike Township Board meeting is also available to view online.
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Mirror Indy reporter Enrique Saenz covers west Indianapolis. Contact him at 317-983-4203 or enrique.saenz@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on Bluesky at @enriquesaenz.bsky.social.
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