1 March 2023
RENO COUNTY, Kan. (KSNW) – The Reno County commissioners hired fired a fire administrator, Travis Vogt, in March of 2022. Vogt has been working on making some changes so fire departments in the county will be more efficient when working together.
Vogt has been working on standardizing equipment, procedures and training across the board.
The Pretty Prairie Volunteer Fire Department Chief, Rick Garver, says it’s all about being on the same page before they get into a stressful situation. And it’ll ultimately make their fire response more efficient, saving more lives and more property
Garver says the departments in the county all have the same goal – to put out the fire with minimal damage.
“It gets everybody on the same page,” Garver said. “So we know what the firefighters in a separate district are going to do, how they’re going to fight that fire, what their tactics are. We’re all going to have the same tactics instead of just kind of scattered.”
Before, he says fire departments would go out and start putting out the fire in their way.
“We don’t know the lay of the land, we’re just gonna do our own thing, so then we had trucks scattered all over, not working together,” Garver said.
But now, they line up and have an order.
“We try and get two or three or four. However many trucks it takes and go down the line and put it out, and so the last ones mop it up and make sure it doesn’t flare up again, so that makes it more efficient,” Garver said.
Also, Vogt is working with vendors to standardize equipment.
“Each district has a capital improvement program, so all our equipment is online to be replaced on certain years,” Vogt said.
Vogt says volunteer firefighters don’t spend as much time at the station as paid department firefighters do. So, they don’t have the time to learn multiple different pieces of equipment for different departments.
“They say, ‘Hey, go get this or that.’ You can go right up to their truck and get it because you know they have it, and you know where it is,” Garver said.
Vogt has also hired a company to create standard operation procedures for the county.
“Once those are built, they’ll be rolled out to where each fireman can each access it on their phone,” Vogt says.
Graver says people and property owners should make sure to stay aware of red flag days, and fire officials say to keep your property clean of brush and any fuel to minimize these situations altogether.