July 2018 – Page 14 – Welcome to Wyandotte Daily!

Brazil and Australia played a match today at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas. It was the first of a doubleheader, with the second game starting at 6 p.m. between the U.S. Women’s National Team and Japan. (Photo by William Crum)

Mike Callahan of Chicago today was named the new Kansas City, Kansas, fire chief. (Staff photo)

by Mary Rupert

The Unified Government today announced that Mike Callahan of Chicago will be the new Kansas City, Kansas, fire chief.

Callahan, 60, is deputy fire commissioner of the 5,000-employee Chicago Fire Department, and a 40-year veteran of that department, starting in 1980 as a firefighter, according to UG officials. For the past nine years, he has been the deputy fire commissioner in Chicago.

After a national search, Callahan was selected by UG Administrator Doug Bach from six finalists, including two finalists from the Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Department. The six finalists were introduced at a UG meeting on June 14, and included Jack Andrade, senior assistant chief of logistics, and John Droppelmann, fire marshal, both from the Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Department. Andrade served as acting fire chief for the past few weeks, after the retirement of interim fire chief Kevin Shirley on July 12.

“From what I have observed, the recruitment, assessment and selection process has been fair, systematic and rigorous, and brought forward six qualified candidates,” Mayor David Alvey said at a news conference today.

There were numerous opportunities to observe the candidates during the past weeks, he added. Mayor Alvey said he concurred with the selection of Callahan.

Bach said an outside search firm conducted the recruitment, then there were assessments and extensive background checks, along with community interviews and on-site interviews. Bach made the final selection of Callahan.

Callahan, who has a Master of Science in Homeland Security administration and a Bachelor of Arts in law enforcement-justice administration and Spanish language, said he wanted to increase community engagement with the Fire Department, especially those areas of the community that have been historically under-represented in the fire service.

Callahan said he had a 100-day plan, which includes holding community forums, a listening tour at every fire station, and holding meetings with command staff.

Callahan had remarked at the June 14 UG meeting that his father was a firefighter, also, and his wife is a police officer who wants to retire soon. They were looking to move to a smaller community, with a lower cost of living and an opportunity for outdoor activities.

Callahan said today that Chicago also faced a shift-trading issue, and the issue would be able to be resolved through collective bargaining language. He said he did not anticipate any difficulty since a common goal was the safety of the citizens and firefighters.

The staffing on each truck, he said, is also a nationwide issue, with certain regulations and advisories applying to it. This issue would have to be looked at in the totality of the service of Kansas City, Kansas, he said.

“Our new chief faces many challenges,” Mayor Alvey said today, adding he was proud of the work of the firefighters and their commitment.

The mayor said the challenges include how to remodel fire stations and where to build new ones, what is the staffing needed on the fire trucks, how the UG recruits, trains and hires personnel who reflect diversity, how they should manage shift trading, how to upgrade equipment, and how to accomplish it all with limited financial challenges.

Bach said he put a lot of value into the commitment of the local candidates, and he also had to consider where they are now as a department and what were some of the key attributes they need to bring in. Bach said the national search allowed the UG to bring in someone who had some different skill sets and training.

“We have to focus on the greater good here,” Mayor Alvey said. They had to consider what the needs were and who brings the best set of skills to the job.

“Each one of them was quite good,” Alvey said about the candidates. “I think we came up with, in this situation, the best candidate.”

During the past few years, the Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Department has faced several issues, including shift trading and staffing. A recent fire study recommended consolidating some fire stations, including some older stations in the northeast, Fairfax and eastern areas, and also raised questions about the adequacy of the number of firefighters sent out on each truck.

The UG Commission on June 28 turned down a Fire Department proposal for a federal grant that would fund 24 more Fire Department positions over the next few years, that would also have required a matching amount from the UG, with the administrator’s recommendation against it. After a few years, the UG would have to pick up the cost of the positions. The administrator said he would rather provide more dollars for infrastructure and equipment for the Fire Department.

The UG also has approved building a new fire station at Leavenworth Road and Hutton Road in the Piper area, and the fire study recommended other building projects and upgrades.

Although UG Commissioner Mike Kane at a budget meeting July 23 criticized the UG administration for dragging its feet on building the new Piper fire station, as funding was authorized a year ago, Mayor Alvey today said that “it’s full steam ahead” on the western fire station. UG staff said at the meeting that construction might be started in 2019 on the Piper fire station; they were currently working on what should go into the design.

Kane said at that meeting that he didn’t understand why it took so long, while UG staff explained they were doing site preparation, acquiring the property took a long time, and planning was done on what would best suit the Piper area. The UG is doing a design-build on the project, according to the staff.

Only a week ago, July 19, the UG published a public notice for a construction manager at risk for the fire station, with bids to be received Aug. 9.

One of the challenges the UG faces is its resources and the state of the fire stations, which need work. “We have to be very prudential about it,” Mayor Alvey said today.

At some point the Fire Department will be looking at the recommendations to consolidate stations and the location of stations, and the new chief has broad experience to bring insights into that, Mayor Alvey said.