fire

Senate Bill 71 expands the death benefit for officers killed in the line of duty to $100,000.

Jim Richardson had a distinguished career making images for National Geographic Magazine stories on cultural, environmental and scientific issues. His work on the Flint Hills introduced the uniquely American landscape to an international audience.

A new Kansas City, Kansas Fire Department master plan also suggests that the department needs more staff, some companies fail to meet response time standards and the department needs to accelerate replacing older vehicles. The meeting got testy because the fire chief said he did not know what any of this would cost.

The Kansas City Fire Department has responded to all kinds of emergencies since 1868, but some firefighters who died doing this dangerous work have been forgotten. Ray Elder is making certain all of them are remembered, and their names added to the Firefighters Fountain and Memorial.

Wildfires have become more frequent, burning bigger areas during longer seasons thanks to conditions exacerbated by climate change. More people in the Great Plains and Midwest are turning to “prescribed” burns, which can help reduce wildfire risk.

Jason Cerrano got the idea for the SAM Control System about 15 years ago while working a house fire for the Pattonville Fire Protection District. The system is used in more than 120 fire departments in the U.S.

Fighting fires has evolved, but federal safety regulations haven’t changed for nearly half a century. Now the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed new safety standards. It's great news for career and paid firefighters, but volunteer departments say the new rules could bog them down with expensive and irrelevant regulations.

George C. Hale served as the Chief of the Kansas City, Missouri Fire Department, for 31 years. At the end of the 19th century, he revolutionized firefighting with his more than 60 patented inventions, including the Hale Water Tower and the telephone fire alarm, and helped bring the country's fire departments into the modern era.

More than 300,000 people are expected to head to Sedalia for the Missouri State Fair. Keeping that many people safe is a responsibility that’s actually too big for the town of about 22,000 people — but each year they get plenty of help.

Mayor Quinton Lucas has sponsored an ordinance that would combine the KCPD and KCFD communication centers. Neither police nor fire are enthused.

Fireworks have been used to dazzle and entertain for centuries. These spectacles can seem out of this world, and they’re directly related to Kate the Chemist’s favorite subject: chemistry. Kate answers your questions about fireworks, including what causes their sound, colors and even smell.

Just a month after a fire left the historic Warwick Theatre charred and out of commission, the Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre will perform this week in a temporary space while the community rallies to help out.