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Geary County emergency management reports higher call volume, grant awards and new fire academy plan
Summary
Emergency management director Gary Burgess reported 115 year-to-date fire calls (vs. 99 last year), a $2,500 donation used to purchase gas monitors, ongoing AFG grant reimbursement of about $19,000, and plans for a basic fire academy to prepare staff for wildland season.
Gary Burgess, Geary County emergency management director, told commissioners the county is running ahead of last year in fire responses and is finishing several equipment and training projects.
"Year to date for fire calls for 2025 were at a 115. Same period last year, 99. So we're 16 ahead of last year still," Burgess said, citing an uptick in responses through November. He said three vehicle fires were reported during November and no structure fires were recorded in the month covered.
Burgess reported a $2,500 donation from the Kansas Pipeline Association and Kansas Gas that funded gas monitors. "That was a grant we wrote earlier to get those for the gas monitors. We were able to purchase 5 of those, and they actually presented us a check," he said, and added the monitors are now in service on the first-out truck.
He also updated the commission on the 2022 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG), saying the department is awaiting one final payment and expects about $19,000 in reimbursement when the final paperwork is submitted.
On equipment modernization, Burgess said staff evaluated several SCBA models and will finalize specifications with captains and lieutenants before ordering replacements to match regional compatibility with neighboring departments.
On training, Burgess described a basic fire academy focused on wildland operations: "We've got 4 people for our department and 3 for Grandview that we're doing an actual basic fire academy… we'll concentrate just on wildland side of it for now."
He also noted upcoming exercises: a tabletop in the morning and functional drills in the afternoon at multiple campus locations on the 18th, and said Kurt Yonke will lead the department while Burgess attends incident-management training out of county.
Next steps include finishing the AFG closeout to secure the remaining reimbursement, finalizing SCBA specifications and placing orders, and running the planned academy to build surge capacity ahead of next fire season.
