Welcome to the Lenexa Fire Department’s Website!

Fire Chief Dan Rhodus

It is my pleasure to represent the outstanding men and women who proudly serve the City of Lenexa, Kansas Fire Department. Together we work to provide high quality emergency services and public education programs to the community.

It is a privilege to lead our progressive, customer-driven organization constantly working to meet the needs of the community. We do this through the dedicated efforts of 84 uniformed and 1 non-uniformed personnel, assigned to one of three major divisions: Administration, Prevention, and Operations.

Department services include the prevention and suppression of fires and related hazards, emergency medical care of the sick and injured, technical rescue and hazardous materials emergency response. Additionally, the department provides injury prevention education programs, fire origin and cause investigation, and emergency management coordination.

The department operates five (5) strategically located fire stations with a daily minimum staffing of twenty (20) firefighters and officers; staffing two (2) Engine Companies, three (3) Quint Companies, two (2) ALS Squads and one (1) Shift Commander Unit.

Our newest Fire Station (#5) which is located at 19151 Prairie Star Parkway provides services to the general areas between Renner Boulevard and K-7 highway. The central location of this station provides services to a fast-growing portion of the City and one in which the initial emergency unit travel time performance standards of 6-minutes were previously unachievable.

In 2008, the department responded to 4,581 calls for service. These included 3,056 emergency medical incidents; 1,092 responses to automatic fire alarms, investigations, and citizen’s request for assistance; 140 structure, vehicle or other fires; and 166 hazardous materials incidents.

A vital activity within our mission is to prevent fires and accidents from occurring. This is accomplished through comprehensive, proactive fire prevention efforts and public education programs. In 2008, the department conducted numerous fire and life safety education programs to a total audience of 13,276. These programs included visits to all elementary schools, health and safety fairs, block parties, CPR classes, Girl and Boy Scout Organizations, fire station tours, and senior citizen groups.

The department has attained several awards for its commitment to continuous improvement:

• The department is one of only 135 agencies in the world and the first in Kansas to achieve the prestigious Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) Accredited Status. CFAI is dedicated to assisting the fire and emergency service agencies throughout the world in achieving excellence through self-assessment and accreditation in order to provide continuous quality improvement and the enhancement of service delivery to their communities.  The CFAI process is voluntary and provides an agency with an improvement model to assess their service delivery and performance internally and then works with a team of peers from other agencies to evaluate their completed self-assessment. The department was originally accredited in 2002 and earned reaccreditation in 2007.

• The department attained an Insurance Services Office (ISO) Public Protection Classification (PPC) class 2 rating in 2004. The ISO has rated over 46,000 fire departments nationwide, with only about 400 having received a class rating of 2 or less. There is currently no lower classified community in the State of Kansas. ISO is the leading supplier of statistical, underwriting, and actuarial information for the property/casualty insurance industry. Most insurers use the PPC classifications for underwriting and calculating fire insurance premiums for residential, commercial and industrial properties. The ISO rating classification is provided on a scale of 1-10, with 1 considered as “exemplary”, and 10 considered “without protection.” The proactive approach by past and current City Councils for quality fire department services with years of work and program enhancements in department operations have made this ISO class rating possible.

Natural and man-made disasters in and around Lenexa can have significant impacts on the community. Therefore, our mission statement reflects the need for our fire department to think and operate in a manner that supports a wide range of emergency services.

“The Lenexa Fire Department is engaged in the protection of life, property, and environment. We are committed, through both action and education, to providing professional care that enhances the safety of our community”.

Once again, welcome to our Fire Department and the City of Lenexa!

Please contact me if you have any additional questions or suggestions.

C. Dan Rhodus II, Fire Chief

9620 Pflumm Road

Lenexa, Kansas 66215

(913) 888-6380

drhodus@ci.lenexa.ks.us