Kansas City and Kansas Fire Department releases blueprint to improve station operations

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – The Kansas City, Kansas Fire Department presented its master plan along with findings from a study of its operations to the Unified Government Board of Commissioners.

Station 11 was built in 1924 and now has limited space for a modern truck, according to master plan images, as well as an outdated electrical system inside. Station 3 was built in 1951 and lacks storage space, no room for an appliance/vehicle, and reportedly has an unsafe and inefficient HVAC system. Quindaro Station 5 was built 69 years ago and the basement ceiling collapsed.

Now Station 16 showed what could happen to the department, last year housing 45 firefighters on South 55th Street, and had no problems to report.

“A fire station dating from 1930 needs to be maintained and upgraded to modern standards to provide staff with a safe, healthy and clean environment. So we look forward to the presentation,” KCKFD Chief Dennis L. Rubin said ahead of Thursday’s presentation.

Rubin credits collaboration with making the plan happen so that higher-ups could see the scope of it. He said the genesis of the master plan was working with IAFF Local 64 for management and staff to internally develop a holistic plan for the next 10-plus years.

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“We did it in unison, working closely with the fire department,” Rubin said, “with the people who actually have to respond to fire calls.”

All of these findings are intended to ensure that KCKFD can continue operations to ensure the safety of the more than 153,000 residents it serves.

“We have to look at the financials, we have to look at our facilities, are we meeting codes and standards, are the vehicles response ready, meaning are they appropriate and properly maintained,” he said . “We also fully understand the financial capacity of our community.”

Some notes from the master plan indicate they currently have 11 frontline ambulances handling the majority of the more than 36,000 calls each year. And the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recommends four firefighters on each pumper, but currently there are three firefighters on KCKFD pumpers.

Rubin said fire trucks go out for calls an average of 15 times a day.

“In many areas we’re getting that, we’re hitting that 90 percentile,” he said. “In some areas we just don’t do it.”

They also want to expand their community paramedicine program where a single person provides medical care at home. Rubin wants to ensure the program improves to decrease the number of emergency calls they receive and reduce pressure on services.

Rubin said discussions will continue with the UG in early 2025 on what resolutions they can handle.

“Over time, we will get closer to this standard, but at this point we are still far from being able to identify exactly how many, who, when and where,” Rubin said.