California Fires

For those that might care, in follow up to the previous post, KFS Engine 61 is at the Piute Fire NW of Bakersfield, CA, and the Mid Plains Interagency Hand Crew, of which KFS is a sponsoring agency and provides some of the staff, including Rodney as a founding crew boss, is at the Basin Complex near Big Sur - the one that's in all the news reports, and their pics have been on some of them.

Staff out during July

As I type this, 2 of our Manhattan office fire staff are in California, assisting with the fires, and I'll be leaving Weds, and Rodney probably soon. KFS staff participate in responses to major fires around the country, partly to assist our state and federal partners in other areas, but also to gain valuable experience we can bring back to Kansas, and to both save and generate revenue to support our activities. Many are unaware, but KFS' budget is 80% or so federal grant money, with very minimal budget support from the State. Federal grants are changing, leaving us in a real pinch unless things change, but when we go out of state, our salaries are reimbursed by the agency responsible for the fire, and we get paid an hourly rate for our engine that can bring in over $15K in a 2 week trip, which directly supports the programs we provide to local fire departments - training, equipment, etc. It will be inconvenient for us and some of you having most or all of us gone at once, and we apologize in advance, but trust you will understand that by maintaining adequate support for our programs, it will benefit all in the long run.
-Eric

Trucks gone

The trucks that have been advertised here and on our EDP page are all claimed. There may be more to come later, but these have been issued or donated to departments that needed them, from far southeast through central Kansas. Those still in need of vehicles can contact Ken at the shops to discuss options through the Federal Excess Personal Property (FEPP) program, which currently has trucks issued to hundreds of KS fire departments.