6 days ago
Kansas Task Force 1 deploys to Texas to assist with flood relief
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas Task Force 1 deployed to Kerrville, Texas, on Saturday to assist with the disaster caused by flooding and heavy rains.
'So they're preparing for more flooding in that same area where they've already been hit,' said Lance Feyh, Kansas State Fire Marshal Public Information Manager.
Fifteen personnel from seven agencies are involved in this deployment.
'I want to thank those agencies because they're sending personnel from their departments to go down and represent the state of Kansas and perform these duties,' Feyh explained.
Bystander saves child from deadly Cameron housefire: Police
Participating agencies include the Kansas State Fire Marshal, the Olathe Fire Department, the Kansas City, Kansas Fire Department and the Shawnee Fire Department.
'We're very fortunate that we have the equipment and the personnel and the training to provide assistance not just to our community in the metro region, but also to help those in other parts of the country that need assistance,' said Battalion Chief Kiel Mason with the Olathe Fire Department.
Texas sent an Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) request to the Kansas Division of Emergency Management. An EMAC is a mutual aid agreement that facilitates assistance in response and recovery operations during a disaster.
KS-TF1 consists of two Type 3 swift-water search and rescue teams, equipped with hard-bottom inflatable boats. The teams will conduct search and rescue operations. Their objectives will be to search for and rescue people, provide basic life support (BLS) medical care, transport people and animals to the nearest location for secondary air or land transport, among other efforts.
'So those individuals work for their fire departments full time. But our (State Fire Marshal) emergency response division has a search and rescue unit that is tasked with providing training for all different types of scenarios for these individuals,' Feyh explained.
Agencies that participate in KS-TF1 also conduct their own training throughout the year.
'They'll do swift water training, go out on the lakes, go out on the reservoirs, go out onto the rivers and practice training, using the boats,' Feyh explained.
'So it's a constant thing that's happening with their training to stay on top of and be in the best potential place to utilize the services we offer.'
Mason says Olathe FD's Special Operations group trains annually and works with partners in the KC metro.
Missouri House bill ignites debate on reducing limitations
'We do train annually on boat operations, surface water operations, swift water operations, and technical search operations,' Mason explained.
'We have five boats that we have here at the Olathe Fire Department. So we're able to supplement resource needs through the state of Kansas, but also have equipment here available at home if it is needed to support the metro region or even here in the city of Olathe.'
Kansas Task Force 1 will start its search and rescue efforts in Kerrville on Monday morning.
KS-TF1's deployment is expected to last two weeks, but that timeline could shift depending on needs.
'The flooding that was already there is still there. The damage and debris are now going to be shifted around again. So, there will be multiple debris floating around that you have to watch out for. It's a treacherous, dangerous thing, but they're prepared to perform life safety if they need to, and help transport people and get them to safe ground,' Feyh explained.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
