6020 Raytown Trffy
816-737-6034
www.raytownfire.com

Our Mission

The Raytown Fire Protection District’s mission is to protect the people & property within our service area by providing the widest range of professional emergency services possible.

How we intend to accomplish our mission:

We will deliver these services

in an effort to mitigate the adverse effects of fire, sudden medical emergencies or exposure to dangerous conditions created by man or   nature.  We intend to do so with rapid, professional, humanitarian services essential to their health, safety and well being. We will accomplish our mission utilizing the best personnel to deliver prevention, public awareness, fire suppression, emergency medical services and other related emergency and non-emergency activities. We will actively participate in our community and strive to effectively utilize all of the resources at our command to complete this mission.

The Raytown Fire Protection District is an independent taxing entity from the City of Raytown. We are authorized to operate  under the State of Missouri Statue Chapter 321 and have since 1947.

The District is governed by a three-member board of directors. Each director serves a six-year term, with each term staggered   every other year. They meet twice a month, generally on the second and fourth Monday’s of each month with an occasional special meeting as warranted.

The department employs 35 full time personnel under the supervision of an appointed Fire Chief. Each shift has ten personnel, with one additional Chief Officer assigned as the shift commander.  Extra manpower for fire suppression is made up of off duty firefighters. In 2009, the District entered into an agreement with the Kansas City Fire Department for “automatic aid”. This is an upgrade to other mutual aid agreements. The district agrees to respond to calls for service within a geographical boundary for fire and EMS services. This is based on the closest available unit rather than city limits or jurisdictional boundaries. In return, Kansas City Fire Department responds to any request we may have for assistance.

This includes structural fires, hazardous materials spills and leaks, building collapse rescue and high rise fires. Instead of having just up to 11 Raytown Firefighters, there could be as many as 43 on a residential fire. This is safer for our firefighters, more efficient delivery for as many task needed to be performed and potentially reduces the overall loss of a fire by getting the job done quicker with more manpower.  The district has signed mutual aid agreements with all jurisdictions in the Missouri side of the metro area. The district has signed statewide mutual aid agreements, to send and receive apparatus and manpower should the need arise.  The full time staff works within three battalions. Raytown Firefighters work 24 hours on duty with 48 hours off duty.

The Fire Department uses the 2006 edition of the International Fire Code. On duty companies inspect businesses, churches and educational facilities. Businesses are placed on a rotation of annual, semi-annual or bi-annual inspections depending on hazardous processes or occupancy type.  Facilities, Equipment and Apparatus Maintenance division is responsible for two stations, three pumpers, one aerial truck and assorted support vehicles.

Emergency Medical Services are delivered at the advanced life support level (Paramedic). We support the City of Raytown Ambulance Services with a tandem response to life threatening emergencies. All apparatus have the latest in emergency medical equipment, including Lifpak monitor/defibrillators. Twenty of the thirty five full time personnel are State of Missouri licensed Emergency Medical Technicians. Thirteen more are licensed Paramedics.

All firefighting personnel have been trained and certified to the latest National Fire Protection Association standard for Firefighter 1 and 2. The District has entered into an agreement with the City of Raytown to be licensed as an Emergency Medical Response Agency or EMRA. This is authorized under Missouri statutes; allowing our paramedics to perform the same procedures as ambulance based paramedics with the exception of transportation. It is the Districts ultimate intent to have at least one paramedic staffing a fire truck on both front line apparatus 24 hours a day. This will ensure that Advance Life Support (ALS) can begin as soon as we arrive and or Raytown EMS is busy running other calls for service.  Most fire district personnel are cross trained for other positions. Meaning firefighters can work as drivers and drivers can work as captains. There are fourteen who have at least Associate of Arts degrees in Fire Science. The district personnel hold state certificates in fire investigations, fire inspector, fire instructor, hazardous material technician and certified fire officers.  Firefighters belong to the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) Local 1730. A new contract is undergoing the negotiation process, hopefully for another three year term.

The district operates off of $3.8 million dollar operations budget (for Budget Year 2011). Currently, the major portion of tax support comes from personal and real property. A $0.78 mil levy is set for general operations. Firefighter’s pensions are supported by a $0.05 mil levy. Debt Service is set at $0.18 mil for the bond retirement. The total set by adding all together is $1.01 mil. The fire district also receives revenue from sales tax, which is collected as one fourth of one percent on all sales, with the exception of domestic utilities use.

Alarm ratio between fire related and emergency medical have remained constant; 75% are medical and 25% are fire related. The response times have been monitored for the last ten years. They remain nearly constant at four minutes six seconds average.

With the help of the City of Raytown, Opticom was installed through out most of the City’s traffic controlled intersections with signal light preemption equipment. This product will help reduce response times and make the response in a safer manner. This technology will give an emergency vehicle a green light through a controlled intersection and hold traffic in all other directions of travel until the emergency vehicle clears the intersection.

Insurance Services Office (ISO) gave Raytown a class 4 rating in 1988. This rating is made to set the insurance rates for commercial properties. Most insurance underwriters use this classification to set the insurance rate for residential rates as well. The lower the classification number, the better the fire delivery and the possibility of lower insurance premiums. With improvements in dispatching, communication equipment, upgrades in manpower and water supply the next grading could reduce the classification to 3.  The District is scheduled to be reviewed in December 2011 for any possible changes in the ISO rating.

In 2006 voters approved a capital improvement for the fire district of 7.4 million dollars by a four to one margin. Both fire stations were upgraded, remodeled and added onto.  The Raytown Fire District’s remodeling project has won a prestigious 2009 SILVER AWARD in the Station Style contest with FIRE CHIEF Magazine. Our entry was one of five categories. All of the winners of this contest were published in this national trade magazine in the November 2008 edition. Congratulations to McCowan-Gordon Construction and Hoefer-Wysocki Architects companies!

The same election also asked for funds to hire six more firefighters. That too was passed overwhelmingly. The project was finished ahead of schedule and slightly under budget. Administrative offices and Fire crews relocated on site during the construction. The new building was occupied in the summer of 2008.