Kansas City area fire apparatus

[MFD76]

[quote name='firepost' post='294822' date='Apr 5 2009, 15:06 ']Engine 61 thanks for posting your Kansas City pics. That is one big city fire department that I haven't seen that many photo threads on.

I was wondering is Kansas City running with 4 or 5 Tower Ladders now? I know that Truck 15 had been running with a Tower Ladder for while however I understand that Trucks 2,3,11 and 12 were recently assigned Tower Ladders.

Is Kansas City still running with the two Quints on the far north and far south sides of the city?

In know that in a recent consultant study done for the KCFD it had been recommended that some new stations be built on the far north and south ends of town and that 2 new Truck companies be added to the fleet so that Kansas City would be running with 14 instead of 12 Truck companies. Is the city making plans to follow through on the consultant's recommendations?

The consultant had also recommended that 3 Heavy Rescue Squads to be run by the department.

I know that some time in the 1990's when the KCFD was requipped with a Fleet of new E/One apparatus that about 7 new Squads had been put in service but apparently at least one or two were taken out of service.

Do you have a history of those 7 Squads from the 1990's and where they had been located?

I believe that a few of them were supposed to have replaced some Engine companies and that some of them were designated medium duty Squads and that only about one or two of them were designated as Heavy Rescue Squads.

How were they run when KCFD was running with several types of Squad designations?

Thanks in advance[/quote]



Where to start,

Yes KCFD has tweleve trucks and Truck 2,3,6,11,12,15 are all Towers 95ft. Truck 2,3,11,12 have the new soild red towers. Truck 13 is in a 1996 100ft Sutphen Tower. Truck 4 is a 100ft Quint and Trucks 5,7,8,10 are Dry 100ft Tillers. The current fire chief came from one of our suburbs and really likes Tower Quints so the department can met NFPA 1710. He hates Tillers an want to reduce KCFD to only three in the mid-twon area. Now some of the Towers don't have hose in the beds and I can almost bet the tanks are dry. The truck companys work group recommended returning to a Tillered fleet in 2006 but the chief had already got the Labor Management committe to back the Tower Quints. So they might look like quints but they run as trucks and the pull up at working fires and DO NOT streach lines. At a fire the Truck splits and Captain and FF are search and the FAO and FF or Tillerman are vertical vent. KCFD does very little PPV. I will imagine that the Tillers will return after the cheif retires.



The 75ft Quints are dead and sold. The current Chief does not believe in Quints and has stated that 75ft ladders have no place in a moderate to large city, so Quint 41 and 44 returned to Pumpers 41 and 44 and Truck 15 was reopened. Truck 14, 15 were disbanded in 1979 when the 100ft Seagrave Quints came to KCFD.



Truck both Tillered 1, 9 were disbanded in 1997 when the Rescue concept was adopted. It is very sad because Truck 1 was the oldest inservice company in the city they even outlasted pumper 2 that became pumper 3.



Truck 4 was disbanded at Fire House Seven in 1979-1980 and was reopened in 1999 at the new Fire House Three way north.



There was talk of reopening Truck 1 downtown due to the redevelopment, however with the current money issues I beleive it has be tabled. Also a Truck will be added at FH44 when it is rebuilt and then Truck 4 will move to FH14. I believe the new truck at FH44 will be Truck 14 because it was the northland Truck before begin disbanded at FH38 in 1979. As Truck 15 was the southland Truck before being disbanded in 1979 at FH28.



New Fire Houses, Fire House 14 for Pumper 14 and Car 103 and a future Truck in the northland near Liberty is an addtion but all others have been rebuilds