Chief: Austin-area fire station brownout common in tight budget times

The Miami Valley Fire District’s Station 51, which was temporarily closed last week, is one of the first fire houses serving Miamisburg and Miami Twp. to close when budgets are tight, according to the fire chief. NICK BLIZZARD/STAFF

The Miami Valley Fire District’s Station 51, which was temporarily closed last week, is one of the first fire houses serving Miamisburg and Miami Twp. to close when budgets are tight, according to the fire chief. NICK BLIZZARD/STAFF
Local News
By
Aug 7, 2019
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The Miami Valley Fire District in recent days has temporarily closed a station, a move the chief said is common when the department’s budget is tight.

Station 51 on Wood Road was closed for a few days last week as the fire district that serves Miami Twp. and Miamisburg faces financial issues, Chief Matt Queen said.

The station has been temporarily closed – or browned out — “on several occasions in previous years… based on overtime getting too high, staff gets too low and that might be based on injuries or illnesses on staff,” Queen said.

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Station 51, which is near the Austin Boulevard interchange, was open this week. But it is the station the fire district closes during the year when confronted by periodic budget hardships because it receives the least number of calls among the MVFD’s five stations.

Residents in the area of the station near the city and township border expressed concern late last week when it shut down as the next closest fire station – No. 52, the district’s headquarters of Lyons Road – is about four miles away.

-MORE COVERAGE ON THIS ISSUE:

RELATED: Miami Valley Fire District temporarily takes firehouse out of service

RELATED: Township, city still working out funding for combined fire district

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Nick Blizzard is a staff writer for the Dayton Daily News. He is a graduate of Stebbins High School who earned a bachelor’s degree from Ohio University and its E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. Nick is a Riverside native and has been a journalist in the Dayton area for more than 20 years.