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Fire official urges clearer county‑city burn rules as volunteer ranks shrink
Summary
Randall Brown told commissioners Coffey County fire departments are down roughly 10–15 volunteers and urged updates to a 2016 burn resolution that does not clarify applicability inside city limits. He suggested financial penalties rather than jail time for violations and recommended coordination with cities to close enforcement gaps.
Randall Brown, a representative from the county’s fire service, told the Coffey County Commission that volunteer ranks have fallen ‘‘to about 115 volunteers’’ from a typical 125–130 and that the department’s annual call volume averages about 679 calls.
Brown warned the commission that the county’s burn resolution, last reviewed in 2016, clearly covers rural areas but does not spell out whether or how it applies inside city limits. ‘‘It states it in this, but it doesn't state in here anything about the cities,’’ he said, urging language that would eliminate a potential enforcement loophole and recommending coordinated adoption by the municipalities. Brown told the board that penalties enforced through Coffey County District Court could include jail time on paper, but that financial penalties are often more effective in practice.
Brown also summarized operational needs: the county is replacing aging SCBA air compressors and upgrading self‑contained breathing apparatus to longer‑duration bottles (noting a move from lower pressure packs to 4,500 psi bottles) and stressed seasonal call increases for grass fires in March and April. He said dispatch and burn‑permit processes help track authorized burns but noted record‑transfer gaps between shifts can hamper enforcement.
Commission members discussed options for clarifying the resolution and asked staff to work with city governments. County counsel said the county cannot require a city to adopt the resolution, but recommended outreach so the cities may choose to adopt or coordinate compatible rules. The commission did not adopt language at the meeting but instructed staff to draft clarifying revisions and consult the cities before returning the item for formal action.
The board thanked Brown for the briefing and took no immediate policy vote at the meeting.
