Operations

The Shawnee Fire Department (SFD) is a professional career fire service dedicated to serving our community through fire, rescue, and emergency medical care. All SFD firefighters are certified Emergency Medical Technicians, capable of delivering life-saving aid during medical crises. Furthermore, many team members specialize in water rescue or technical rescue operations, having undergone extensive training to provide support during local, regional, or national emergencies.

The Department's operational arm is overseen by three Battalion Chiefs and a Deputy Chief of Operations. Working on a rotating twenty-four-hour schedule across three shifts, personnel respond to both emergency and non-emergency calls from four stations using our five front-line apparatus. These include two aerial (ladder) trucks, three fire engines, and a versatile heavy rescue unit strategically stationed citywide. Additionally, the Fire Department maintains reserve apparatus and support equipment to fulfill our emergency service commitments.

Beyond responding to calls, firefighters actively engage in various activities throughout the day. They conduct commercial fire inspections to bolster life safety and fire prevention initiatives. Continuous training and professional development are integral, ensuring personnel readiness. Moreover, SFD personnel actively engage with the community by hosting station and apparatus tours, participating in community safety events, and joining neighborhood gatherings to serve and support our residents.

The Shawnee Fire Department is a full time service that provides prompt, professional, and compassionate emergency services to those who live in, work in, and visit the City of Shawnee. The Fire Department provides fire response to all manners of fire: brush fires, commercial building fires, residential structure fires, vehicle fires and more. All firefighters receive extensive initial and on-going training in fire fighting operations from local, regional, and national fire academies. Our deployment employs some of the latest technology and innovations for fighting fire in an effort to minimize property damage from the effects of fire, while maximizing safety for responders and victims of fire.

The Fire Department operates out of four stations that are staffed twenty-four hours a day. Each station provides fire and emergency medical services for a specific geographic area of the City. In the event of fire, resources from multiple stations may respond. The Shawnee Fire Department maintains mutual and automatic aid agreements with fire agencies throughout Johnson County. As a result, it is not uncommon for fire units from surrounding jurisdictions to respond into the City of Shawnee in the event of a fire or medical emergency. This reciprocal agreement provides that SFD units may respond into neighboring jurisdictions upon request as well. The impact these agreements have on our community is that the closest most appropriate emergency resources available will be available to respond to any given emergency.

The majority of emergency responses in Shawnee are medical in nature. As a result, all operations personnel are certified Emergency Medical Technicians with the State of Kansas. Fire personnel carry medical equipment on fire apparatus and can provide emergency medical services prior to the arrival of a medical transport unit. Medical transport services in Shawnee are currently provided by Med-Act of Johnson County. This third-party ambulance service provides advanced life support (ALS) capability with paramedics on transport ambulances. A Med-Act transport ambulance is currently housed in two of our fire stations on either end of the City.

The Fire Department recognizes that certain special operations require unique resources, training, and capability. Based on a risk assessment of our City, the Department has determined a need to provide for the following specialty services:

Static and Swiftwater rescue
Collapse/Confined space operations
High/low angle rescue
Industrial/Auto extrication
Wildland Firefighting Task Force

As a result, the Fire Department has assembled a Water Rescue and Technical Rescue group to meet this critical need. Firefighters who are members of these special operations groups maintain specialized training and certifications in addition to their normal duties as Firefighter/EMTs. The Fire Department has a fully equipped rescue truck at our headquarters station to support the technical rescue operations in the City and throughout the region. In addition, the Department maintains two boats and water rescue equipment at Fire Station #72 in the center of our community. These assets are deployable regionally and nationally in support of major rescue operations and disasters.

The Fire Department has an aggressive training and professional development program to ensure that residents and visitors to our community receive the very best service available. Members of the SFD recognize that when a citizen dials “9-1-1”, they expect prompt, professional, and compassionate service. Our training and professional development program is designed to meet that need. The fire service profession requires a great variety of very technical abilities to be employed often under the most extreme conditions. Our members are committed to community and the fire service and regularly participate in training, education, and development to meet the variety of challenges associated with provided emergency services.

Firefighters are routinely tasked with emergency and non-emergency situations that are unique and challenging. In order to maintain certification as Emergency Medical Technicians, Firefighters must complete numerous hours of annual medical training. This training ensures our members are confident in their skills and abilities and current on the latest trends and practices in emergency medical care. In addition, Firefighters routinely engage in firefighting and rescue training. Our training includes classroom sessions as well as hands-on training evolutions designed to provide SFD personnel the best tactical ability to respond to emergency incidents of any nature.

The members of the Shawnee Fire Department recognize that providing technical ability is only a portion of our commitment to the community. We strive to provide a level of professionalism commensurate with the trust afforded our organization. To that end, the Fire Department has an aggressive and comprehensive professional development program designed to allow our members personal and professional growth opportunities that support our mission of serving the community. Residents and visitors to the City can be assured that the Firefighters, Company Officers, and Chief Officers that serve our community embody professionalism that is supported by formal education, credentialing, and professional designations. We take great pride in our commitment to excellence and strive to provide continual formal development of our members.