Kansas department’s brownouts to end after budget agreement

A Kansas local stood its ground against dangerous reductions to fire department resources. Now the city has agreed to improve staffing and find more fiscally responsible ways to fund two new fire stations.

October 9 • 2024

The Lawrence, Kansas, City Commission recently approved its 2025 budget, building in enough hires to guarantee four-person staffing and end fire station brownouts that have plagued the city for the last five months. The advancements were driven by the strong advocacy of Local 1596 leadership and support from the IAFF.  

“There is more work to be done to secure the resources we need to best serve our community. But we are pleased with the progress, so far, toward ending our staffing and resource shortage,” Local 1596 President Seamus Albritton said. “We appreciate everything the IAFF, the Second District, and the Kansas State Council of Fire Fighters have done to support us through this process.” 

There has been a push, in recent years, to increase fire department resources, including more fire fighters and two new fire stations to address escalating call volume in Lawrence. Fire fighters were being stretched thin, often asked to work overtime to cover calls. 

Last year, the Lawrence City Commission agreed with Local 1596’s leadership and allocated money to hire five more fire fighters. But no fire fighters were hired; instead, the commission decided in May to reduce the daily minimum staffing from 39 to 36.  

That created situations when the department lacked enough fire fighters to cover all engine companies, taking Engine 5 in the center of the city out of service. 
 
“This really put a strain on our response capabilities,” Albritton said. “If we had a busy day with all units out and a call comes in in Engine 5’s service area, our community’s citizens would have to wait until one of our neighboring fire departments responded. And waiting is dangerous in any emergency.” 
   
IAFF 2nd District Vice President Mark Woolbright connected Local 1596 with IAFF resources like its Strategic Campaign experts and Fighting Back financial assistance.  

“We were proud to stand with our Local 1596 brothers and sisters for this intense battle with the city over staff reduction threats, brownouts, and the critical need for more resources,” Woolbright said. “And we were prepared to keep fighting until an amicable solution was found.” 

One of the more visible efforts came in July, when Local 1596 members filled up every empty space in the Lawrence City Commission chambers to demand that the commission reject the proposed 2025 budget. 
 
The budget did call for funding to build two needed fire stations, but to pay for it, the city planned to reduce the number of fire fighters per apparatus, from four to three. This was a safety risk Local 1596 fire fighters were not willing to take.  

The commission agreed to hold off building the fire stations – which are projected to cost $29.5 million – until the city can do so without sacrificing critical resources like staffing.  
 
The newly passed budget includes funding to hire enough personnel to end the brownouts. Local l596 leaders are hopeful it will happen within the next six months.