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Fire chief reports April call load, new grants and training plans including vehicle-warning system and rope rescue classes
Summary
Harrington Fire Department reported 46 calls in April, several grants for equipment, a new advanced vehicle warning system (HOSLERT) to be installed across three trucks and planned rope-rescue training funded by the county.
HARRINGTON, Kan. — The fire chief reported the department ran 46 calls in April and provided a summary of equipment grants, training and staffing updates.
The April tally included 28 medical calls, five motor-vehicle accidents (one serious), one structure fire inside city limits, five grass fires and one lawnmower fire. The department has run 209 calls this year, the chief said.
Staffing: The department experienced two resignations (one junior firefighter, one inactive member) but has two pending applicants who recently moved to town with prior experience; a full-time code-enforcement firefighter recently departed but an offer accepted for replacement (Matt Shepherd, a local volunteer with Kansas Forest Fire Service experience), starting May 19.
Grants and equipment: The department reported two grants: $2,500 from Atmos Energy for a gas meter for the ladder truck and a $7,575 equipment grant from TC Energy (split with Abilene) to finish rope-brush equipment purchased for the county. The department also cited a canceled federal grant for a fire station due to continuing budget resolutions at the federal level and said it will reapply next year.
New systems & training: The department will place HOSLERT, an advanced vehicle-warning system, in three trucks; the system alerts drivers via Apple Maps/Waze/vehicle info centers of stopped emergency vehicles ahead. County-funded three-phase rope-rescue training will run in June (low-angle phase June 4–6) and further phases in the fall. The department said it will also participate in regional mutual-aid training and that some members recently responded with a task-force for a wildland incident in Riley County.
Equipment notes: The new quint is in service but awaiting a repaired pump controller; the department placed two Durangos in service and reported budget savings on those purchases. The chief reminded residents to adopt multiple ways to receive severe-weather alerts because outdoor sirens are designed for people outdoors, not inside homes.
