District Profile

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. See the entire chapter by using this URL: http://www.moga.mo.gov/statutes/chapters/chap321.htm .

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 36 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. In 2009 the Raytown Fire District entered into an automatic aid agreement with Kansas City Fire Department. The district has signed mutual aid agreements (slightly different than automatic aid) 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. Their shift is 24 hours on duty with 48 hours off duty. Each shift is assigned work as a division. They are Facilities, Training, Equipment and Apparatus Maintenance. The day shift Officers are responsible for Operations and Emergency Medical Services. Fire Prevention is assigned to the Fire Marshal. The Chief, Assistant Chief, Fire Marshal and Department Administrative Assistant work Monday through Friday.

Fire Prevention services include business inspections for Fire Code compliance and safety, plan review, Juvenile Fire setter prevention, Public education, and permits, Fire Investigations and Records. The Fire Department uses the 2006 edition of the International Fire Code. On duty companies inspect businesses, churches and educational facilities. Business are placed on a rotation of annual, semi-annual or bi-annual depending on hazardous processes or occupancy type. The Fire Marshal inspects new facilities for temporary and final occupancy permits, sprinkler and stand pipe installations and special inspections outside of normal inspection assignments to the on duty fire company. State certification testing for inspector is scheduled and completed for two personnel with more scheduled in the near future. Currently the Fire Investigation Unit has five suppression personnel as State of Missouri certified fire investigators.

Facilities, Equipment and Apparatus Maintenance division is responsible for two stations, two pumpers, two aerial trucks and assorted support vehicles. They also maintain all firefighting tools, equipment and clothing. Three of these apparatus have extrication and rescue equipment. The fire district has a thermal imaging camera on the apparatus at each station.

Emergency Medical Services are delivered at the advanced life support level. We support the City of Raytown Emergency Medical (Ambulance) Services with a tandem response to life threatening emergencies. The district also responds to any call for medical assistance when the city’s ambulances are out of service. In those instances, we arrive and stabilize patients while other ambulance services are enroute. All apparatus have the latest in emergency medical equipment, including Lifpak monitor/defibrillators. Twenty six of the thirty six full time personnel are State of Missouri licensed Emergency Medical Technicians. Seven more are Paramedics. Continuing education is provided in house and on-duty for re-licensure.

All firefighting personnel have been trained and certified to the latest National Fire Protection Association standard for Firefighter 1 and 2. All personnel but a few have been apparatus operator and company officer trained. All personnel are trained to the Hazardous Materials Operational level. Six personnel are state certified fire service instructors.

The district operates off of $3.31 million dollar operations budget (for Budget Year 2010). Currently, the major portion of tax support comes from personal and real property. A $0.78 mil levy is set for general operations. Firefighters 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.

^Year	^Alarms	^{Losses due (Alarms of all types )}
1994	1,249	$1,635,057.00
1995	1,531	$ 991,862.00
1996	1,963	$1,305,986.00
1997	1,858	$1,330,707.00
1998	1,872	$ 570,638.00
1999	2,071	$ 673,739.00
2000	2,190	$671,048.00
2001	2,201	$1,520,286.00
2002	2,203	$491,793.00
2003	2,229	$1,018,137.00
2004	2,441	$1,506,552.00
2005	2,887	$809,754.00
2006	2,737	$337,000.00
2007	3,202	$1,352,935.00
2008	3,006	$1,732,307.00
2009	3,017	$742,588.00

The majority of fire losses occur in residential fires. The Fire Code only covers commercial properties. Inspections of single-family residences are done only by request of the owner. Alarm ratio between fire related and emergency medical have remained constant through the same period. 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 nine 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. With improvements in dispatching, communication equipment, up grades in manpower and water supply the next grading could reduce the classification to 3.

Raytown Fire Protection District (RFPD) historical information.

Minor Smith first organized the fire district in 1944. The fire district was incorporated in 1947, the city incorporated two years later. The district coverage area was almost three times larger than it is today. Station one was built in 1945. It was a single bay containing a war surplus 1939 Dodge truck. In 1947 the first paid Fire Chief, George Smith (no relation to Minor) and his wife Ruth lived in a trailer placed behind the truck. Ruth dispatched out of the trailer by calling the all-volunteer force of 30 firefighters to respond. In late 1948 an apartment was built above the fire truck bay and the Smiths moved in and remained residents of the building until 1965.

The first actual fire truck arrive in late 1948 and was the only truck until 1951. Minor Smith, Russell Elliott and George Stilley were the first Fire Board of Directors. George Stilley was the father of retired board member Bob Stilley.

Director Smith, who was later Mayor of Raytown, his brother Bill Smith and sons Calvin, Bobbie, Joe Don and Eddie were volunteer firemen.

Some other interesting facts of RFPD.
RFPD purchases two-way radios for fire service use. One of the first in the state to have one.
The city of Kansas City annexes areas previously covered by RFPD. 1950’s and 1960’s
RFPD now covers same as the Raytown city limits, from 27 square miles to 10 square miles.
RFPD hires full time firefighters 1950’s
Station 2 was built in 1964 70^th and Elm.
1967 RFPD now has 14 full time men and unionized by the International Association of Firefighters .
1963 RFPD is rated third best fire department in the State of Missouri by the National Fire Protection Association
1978 Raytown Citizens approves a 1.8 million dollar bond and a five-cent levy for two new fire stations and new fire trucks. Three more men are hired full time, bringing the staff to 21 full time firefighters and 25 volunteers.
Both new stations are finished and operation is moved from 63^rd Street to present location and from the Elm street station to 76^th and Raytown Road February 14^th, 1980
1980 Insurance Services Office rates fire protection and reduces classification from Class 7 to Class 4, which resulted in lower insurance premiums.
1982 a levy increase is passed to hire three more firefighters to staff operations at number two station.
1996 a Sales Tax is passed by the voters to supplement fire operations and buy new equipment.
2000 RFPD is granted a license to provide Advanced Life Support with additional firefighters trained as paramedics.
2003 RFPD is recognized as an Emergency Medical Training entity site by the State of Missouri
One of the first departments in the area to have self contained breathing apparatus.
One of the first fire departments in the area to have a resuscitator
One of the first departments in the area to have trained emergency medical technicians
One of the first departments in the area to have auto extrication equipment known as the “Jaws of Life”
One of the first fire departments in the state to purchase thermal imaging cameras