Fire Station 7 officially closes its doors

09:05 PM EST on Sunday, January 11, 2009

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Injunction filed in attempt to save firehouse from closing

Residents want firehouse in Old Louisville kept open, many worried about response time

(WHAS11) -It marks the end of an era. The oldest working fire station in America, Fire Station Seven in Old Louisville, officially closed its doors Sunday morning.

The city ordered the fire house, which has been in operation since 1871, to close due to budget cuts.

But residents of Old Louisville aren’t letting the historic fire station go without a fight

Joan Stewart from Old Louisville Neighborhood Council said, “Ulysses S. Grant was president when this started! It’s just sad for me as a person who loves old buildings and loves Old Louisville. It’s really sad for me to see something like this just go away.”

But the firehouse’s historic value isn’t the only thing they will miss.

Residents say they will fear for their safety when the firehouse that has protected their neighborhood all these years is gone.

“I’m telling you, this thing rolls out of here 2000 times a year! That’s 2000 times a year that someone is having an emergency—probably a life or death emergency—and they’re not gonna be there,” said Capt. Josh Priddy of the Louisville Fire Dept.

The Old Louisville Neighborhood Council has filed an injunction against the firehouse’s closing.

A hearing is scheduled for 1:15 Monday afternoon in circuit court 8.
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