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County and city report early progress on Jensen Hughes recommendations; new dispatch protocol for apartment/high‑rise fires
Summary
Sedgwick County and Wichita officials told the joint en banc they have begun implementing recommendations from the Jensen Hughes post-incident review, reporting several items implemented or in progress and announcing that, starting Feb. 1, Sedgwick County EMS will dispatch one ambulance and a district chief on initial response to apartment and high‑rise fires.
County assistant manager Rusty Leeds told elected officials the Jensen Hughes review produced about 40 recommendations across emergency communications, fire, EMS and police, and staff have begun implementing many of them.
"Beginning 02/01/2025, one Sedgwick County EMS ambulance and one Sedgwick County EMS district chief will be the on the initial dispatch to any apartment fire or high rise fire countywide," Leeds said, describing a change so EMS resources are dispatched proactively to high-risk structural fires (fire can stand down if not needed). County staff also said emergency communications expanded training, created an employee development team and retrained fire dispatchers in 2024.
City fire officials reported their own progress: most recommendations in water supply and fire attack have been initiated, mayday procedures have been strengthened and several origin-and-cause investigation recommendations are implemented or ongoing. Officials said the city and county created a shared tracking spreadsheet and plan to update a public post-incident analysis dashboard with monthly status reports. Elected officials asked for regular, focused oversight and proposed a small quarterly task force of elected representatives and staff to monitor implementation.
