No Merger Between IFD and Wayne Township Fire Department

Source: PHOTO: (Thinkstock/Bluraz)

INDIANAPOLIS–After much discussion over the possibility of Wayne Township Fire Department merging with the Indianapolis Fire Department, that merger has now been called off.

The City of Indianapolis, Wayne Township Fire Department and Indianapolis Professional Firefighters Local 416 released a joint statement Thursday afternoon that said the following:

“Over the last six months we’ve been discussing merging the Wayne Township Fire Department with the Indianapolis Fire Department. It has been an open and productive conversation that included deep dives into finances, operations, personnel and the tax structures that support the fire protection services. However, given the complexity of this multimillion-dollar merger, all parties have agreed it will not be feasible to complete by January 1, 2025, as we had initially hoped and planned. For now, and for the foreseeable future, the Wayne Township Fire Department will remain its own entity providing fire services to Wayne Township residents. We thank the teams from the City of Indianapolis, Wayne Township, Local 416 and both fire departments for their hard work on this merger and we look forward to continuing our long partnership to provide world-class fire protection to Indianapolis.”