Sedgwick County commissioner cites firefighter safety, issues 90-day notices to some aid-agreement cities

Commissioner Ryan Beatty (District 4) told residents the Sedgwick County Commission voted May 6, by a unanimous 5-0 vote, to issue 90-day notices to certain cities with aid agreements after a citizen advisory board raised safety and equity concerns.

Beatty said the action responds to three main issues raised in a formal advisory-board resolution: what the board called taxing inequity when county fire resources serve areas that do not pay district taxes; a number of aid agreements that are decades old and legally ambiguous; and safety risks tied to volunteer-department staffing at structure fires. “On May 6, through a unanimous 5 0 vote, we approved a 90 day notice to some of our aid agreement cities that we intend to terminate our agreements and seek a new approach,” Beatty said.

Beatty described Sedgwick County Fire as the fourth-largest fire department in the state, with around 150 full-time staff operating out of nine stations and serving Fire District 1, which covers roughly 630 square miles and includes about 13 contracted cities. He said aid agreements produce joint responses to more than 6,000 calls a year but that residents in some aided cities do not pay the fire-district tax used to fund those services.

Citing national staffing guidance, Beatty said volunteer departments often cannot meet the National Fire Protection Association recommendation that a structure-fire scene involving a volunteer department have 10 firefighters on scene within 10 minutes. “The National Fire Protection Agency ... suggests that a structure fire scene involving a fire a fire department that's volunteer should have 10 firefighters on that scene within 10 minutes,” he said, adding the county often arrives first and must assume command with fewer personnel than recommended.

Beatty stressed the move is not an attack on volunteers, noting many volunteers are public-spirited and that volunteer departments are vital to small communities. Still, he said the county must address recurring staffing shortfalls and ambiguities in long-standing agreements to protect both residents and firefighters.

To address the problems, Beatty outlined two main options: renegotiating aid agreements to add clarity, change some auto-aid arrangements to mutual aid requiring a formal request, and set minimum staffing commitments; or inviting cities to join the fire district so residents would receive 24/7 professional fire and medical response, with the county conducting needs-and-coverage analyses and potentially absorbing city stations and apparatus. He said cities that join could reduce their local mill levy or reallocate funds to other priorities.

Beatty said secondary benefits, such as improved ISO ratings that can lower homeowners’ insurance costs, should be part of the conversation. He concluded by urging residents to share feedback within the 90-day window and saying the commission will engage with affected cities to reach a workable solution.