Letter to the editor

Dear citizens of the community of Kansas City, Kansas,

On behalf of the dedicated men and women of the Kansas City, Kansas Fire Department, with whom you entrust your lives, the lives of your family members, and your property, I would like to extend a sincere thank you for your unwavering support of our department.

As our community continues to evolve, so does our mission to continually advance and improve our department and to ensure that the citizens we serve are consistently receiving the highest level of emergency services available. We have a very enthusiastic membership that spends a tremendous amount of time training, developing, and refining their skills to efficiently and effectively mitigate the emergency situations to which we respond. We take great pride in being able to offer this advanced level service to our community. I pledge to continue to train and support our members so that we can continue to serve you in a swift, safe, and professional manner.

Our community has an Insurance Service Office (ISO) rating of a 3/9 with 99% of Kansas City’s citizens’ property. This rating is often utilized to set insurance rates. The lower the number, the better the rate. We serve over 128 square miles of territory in the city, as well as providing mutual aid to other cities and townships when requested. We are committed to providing the utmost standard of fire suppression, Advanced Life Support transport emergency medical services, hazardous material mitigation, technical rescue, fire prevention, arson investigation, and public education in the region. Our dedicated Firefighters respond to an average of over 20,000 emergency responses annually, and that number is growing every year.

We are here for you, and I feel very strongly about our Department being involved in our community. You will see our apparatus and our members at various public events throughout the year; from festivals, church parties, parades, and even youth sporting events. Our fire station doors are always open to our neighbors, the public, and we welcome and encourage visitors anytime. Please feel free to stop by, introduce yourselves, and get to know your public safety neighbors, who have sworn an oath to utilize their specialized expertise, talents, and time to serve and protect you.

As your Fire Chief, it is always a pleasure to work with such dedicated and concerned personnel, who continually strive to improve their skills in an effort to provide the highest quality of service to the community. I am proud to have the opportunity to lead this organization into the future for you, the citizens of KCK. If there is ever any way that I can be of assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Respectfully,
Michael Callahan
Fire Chief, Kansas City, Kansas