Welcome to SHAWNEE COUNTY FIRE DISTRICT #4
Proudly Serving the Kansas Communities of Dover, Willard and Valencia with Professional Volunteers
9/8/19 Kansas Task Force 1 returns home after assisting with Hurricane Dorian response
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - Monday night, Kansas Task Force 1 left the Sunflower State to assist with Hurricane Dorian response efforts.
"This is kind of like, you know you spend a lot of time practicing for a big game, and then you finally get called,” Dirk Christian, chief of the Emergency Response Division for the Kansas State Fire Marshall’s Office, said.
Tuesday morning, the team arrived in Jacksonville, Florida.
"We were there really about a day and a half,” Christian said.
That's when the Kansas Task Force 1 got their next assignment.
As the storm moved north, so did the team — first to Raleigh, North Carolina, then to Plymouth on Friday.
"We actually provided medical support to an emergency shelter that was set up in Plymouth at one of the elementary schools,” Christian said.
The crew was demobilized Saturday morning, hitting the road back home where they arrived Sunday evening.
“The deployment in itself was an extremely priceless experience for an urban search and rescue task force and for the state search and rescue program,” Christian said.
Now, Christian says, it's back to work — putting together an after-action review and a performance improvement plan for next time.
"We never know when there's going to be a rough day in Kansas or somewhere else, and we've got to be ready to go out the door,” Christian said.
He says whatever missions lie ahead, the team will be ready.
“There's a certain amount of passion that each one of these first responders has for special operations rescue and urban search and rescue, and it's why they all devote so much time and energy to training, and to be operationally ready to go, whether it's a tornado in Kansas or an out-of-state call and request for assistance,” he said.
Christian says the team had no accidents, no injuries, and no maintenance issues while deployed.
Over the course of seven days, the team, comprised of 42 first responders from nine agencies, traveled more than 3,400 miles and convoyed through 12 states.
9/2/19 Kansas Task Force 1 takes off to aid with Hurricane Dorian response efforts
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - Sunday night, the phones started ringing.
"Folks started calling and asking if we had capability to deploy,” Dirk Christian, chief of the Emergency Response Division for the Kansas State Fire Marshall’s Office, said.
Monday, that call was answered.
"At the request of the state of Florida, we have rostered a type-3 Urban Search and Rescue Task Force that also has a water rescue package, and water capability, and a seven-person incident support team,” Christian said.
Kansas Task Force One is comprised of 42 first responders from nine agencies across the state.
After loading gear and passing medical checks Monday evening, the team is on its way to assist, as category-five Hurricane Dorian makes its way to the east coast.
"We're going to a staging area at Camp Blanding, which is a National Guard base in Northeast Florida, and then we'll take further guidance from the state of Florida and from FEMA when we arrive there,” Christian said.
The task force is prepared to find and transport any people or animals stranded by rising waters. They are also ready to provide basic life support and medical care.
Christian says when it comes to major events like these, it's all hands on deck.
"If we have a large disaster in the state of Kansas, we'd like to be able to call on our neighboring states and be able to call in other states to assist us,” Christian said. “Because we've developed a robust search and rescue capability across the state of Kansas over the last 12 years or so, we want to be able to assist states when we have the capability to do so."
The team is expected to stay for a 2-week deployment in Florida.
5/16/19 Two killed early Thursday in fiery crash on I-70 west of Topeka
Two people were killed in a fiery crash early Thursday on Interstate 70 just west of Topeka, authorities said.
The crash was reported at 3:28 a.m. on westbound I-70 near the S.W. West Union Road exit.
According to Shawnee County sheriff’s Deputy Shayna Anderson, the crash occurred when a Ford box truck and a Pontiac Firebird collided in the outside lane, sending both vehicles off the roadway to the north.
The Pontiac became fully engulfed in flames with both occupants still inside, Anderson said. Both occupants of the Pontiac were pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the Ford box truck was taken by American Medical Response ambulance to a local hospital, where he was evaluated and released, Anderson said.
The Ford was registered out of Missouri, and the Pontiac was registered out of Tennessee, Anderson said.
The Dover Fire Department assisted at the scene.
10/23/18 Deer season reminder: local couple avoids serious injuries in deer-motorcycle crash
A Harveyville couple learned the hard way that its deer season on the roads this fall in Kansas.
The Shawnee County Sheriffs Office said Tuesday that it appears that a 2005 Harley Davidson motorcycle driven by 46 year-old Ryan Holthaus and his 47-year old passenger Penny Holthaus were southbound in the 6400 blk of SW Douglas Rd when several deer ran out onto the roadway. Mr. Holthaus attempted to avoid the deer, but struck a young doe causing the motorcycle to rollover. Mr. and Ms. Holthaus were transported to Stormont Vail hospital with non life threatening injuries.
Both were wearing helmets at the time of the accident. The accident is still under investigation at this time. The Dover Fire Department and AMR assisted at the scene.
The Sheriff’s Office would like to remind citizens that car deer accidents are on the rise during this part of the year/season and they should remain observant to deer crossings and rural areas where deer may cross the roadway.
