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Fire department retains accreditation recommendation; launches interactive data dashboard
Summary
Overland Park Fire Department reported its annual compliance report was accepted and recommended to retain accreditation; staff also described a new FirstWatch data dashboard and recent investments including opening Station 41 and hiring efforts.
Fire department leaders told the Public Safety Committee that their July annual compliance report was accepted and the department was recommended to retain accreditation, and they demonstrated a new interactive operations dashboard intended to improve data-driven planning.
Fire Risk Manager Shanna Hurst and Deputy Chief Brad Cusick described the department’s accreditation process, noting a five-year self-assessment of 250 performance indicators, a community risk assessment (CRASOC) and a 2023–2027 strategic plan. Hurst said the department submitted its annual compliance report in July and “heard back, last week that it has been accepted and recommended to retain our accreditation status.”
The department outlined progress on recommendations from the prior accreditation cycle (18 recommendations from the last cycle) and new steps including a community-risk reduction specialist hire, exploration of a new CAD platform for 2027, and operational changes tied to opening Station 41 that included cancer-risk-reduction equipment and redesigned crew space.
Deputy Chief Cusick demonstrated the FirstWatch dashboard, a tool that consolidates CAD and records-management data into interactive views: the citywide heat maps, unit time curves, station-level drilldowns, and near-real-time displays. Cusick said the city paid an initial implementation cost of about $50,000 (the department reported a roughly $25,000 discount because FirstWatch was already used regionally) and ongoing annual maintenance around $7,000.
The dashboard can show call volumes by zone, unit performance curves (showing busier daytime hours), and grid-level hot spots to assist resource allocation. Committee members discussed zone definitions (north, central, south, Merriam contract area, fire-district contract area) and how the tool can automate performance alerts to battalion chiefs when turnout or response thresholds are exceeded.
Staff said the department will continue refining dashboards and will present additional community-risk-reduction and GIS-based program data in future briefings.
