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Seward County approves agreement allowing fire department state deployments to be reimbursed
Summary
The county approved an agreement with the Kansas State Fire Marshal that lets local units respond to statewide wildfire incidents for set hourly rates (stated $184–$257 depending on truck/type) and allows departments to decline requests based on staffing or weather concerns.
Seward County Fire Chief Andrew Barclay asked the commission to authorize signing an agreement with the Kansas State Fire Marshal that would permit county apparatus to be deployed for statewide incidents with compensation. Barclay said the agreement sets hourly compensation that can range from $184 to $257 depending on truck type and staffing levels, and noted that the county can decline requests if staffing or weather conditions make deployment impractical.
Barclay explained the agreement is intended to allow departments to recoup costs when they are requested for state-level deployments and to participate in pre-positioning for high fire-danger days. Commissioners asked how frequently such calls occur; Barclay said there had been no state-level calls in the past 12 months and the last out-of-region request was several years ago. Commissioner Abbott moved to accept the agreement and the motion passed by show of hands.
