GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — After nearly four decades, Grand Rapids has a brand-new fire station. City leaders said the $8 million investment will mean faster response times and safer neighborhoods.

The Kendall Street Fire Station opens at the end of the week at 4044 Kalamazoo Ave SE, and Grand Rapids Fire Chief Brad Brown said the need has been clear for years.

“We have not had a new station since 1987 which is when Kalamazoo station opened a few miles up the road. It was time,” said Chief Brown. “It's been over a decade in the works. We really started to look at our response times and number of responses down in this district."

He said the firefighters have struggled to meet response goals in the neighborhood.

“Our response times down here are less than 50% of what we'd like as far

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