Kansas deploying Fire Department personnel and equipment to Louisiana to provide support in wake of Hurricane Ida

The Kansas Division of Emergency Management (KDEM), along with the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) and Kansas Forest Service (KFS), is coordinating the deployment of personnel and equipment from five Kansas fire departments this afternoon to Louisiana to provide support in and around areas affected by Hurricane Ida. The department personnel are deploying as part of an Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), a multistate agreement that allows states to send government aid to other states in emergency situations.

Twenty-three fire department personnel, along with six type 1 engines and a command vehicle, from Johnson County, Leawood, Lenexa, Olathe and Wichita left on 4 September for Louisiana. The EMAC deployment will support fire operations in southern Louisiana. Crews will be based out of Thibodaux and work 48-hour shifts out of a fire station and 48-hour shifts in the base camp in Thibodaux. The deployment will be 16 days total, with 14 days on the ground. 

The departments supporting the deployment are Wichita Fire Department, two type 1 engines, one command vehicle and seven personnel; Leawood Fire Department, one type 1 engine and four personnel; Lenexa Fire Department, one type 1 engine and four personnel; Johnson County Consolidated Fire District 2, one type 1 engine and four personnel; and Olathe FD, one type 1 engine and four personnel.