City of Enterprise Fire Department

City of Enterprise Fire Department The Enterprise Fire Department was established in 1889 and has the fire protection for the city

⚠️ severe weather is in our forecast 🚨 stay aware! 📱 stay alert! 🌧️ if things get bad shelters will be open!Stay safe!
06/13/2026

⚠️ severe weather is in our forecast

🚨 stay aware!
📱 stay alert!

🌧️ if things get bad shelters will be open!

Stay safe!

06/09/2026

⚡️ City crews are out working diligently to restore the power!

🌳 downed trees are being cut up and moved out of the road.

Please be patient as they are trying to work as fast as they can.

Storm shelter is open! *phylis Jackson meeting room* (Below the library!) Again storm shelter is open if needed
06/09/2026

Storm shelter is open!

*phylis Jackson meeting room*
(Below the library!)

Again storm shelter is open if needed

🚗 Extrication Training ⚠️ Abilene Fire Department 🔥 🚒 Enterprise Fire Department District 1 Fire Department 🚨🍀Chapman Fi...
05/23/2026

🚗 Extrication Training ⚠️

Abilene Fire Department 🔥
🚒 Enterprise Fire Department
District 1 Fire Department 🚨
🍀Chapman Fire Department
Herington Fire Department 🚂

Came together this morning for some extrication training. We had the privilege of getting to use several different tools.

🛠️ Spreaders
Cutters
Ram
Combi tool

By the end we had access to the whole inside of the car.

Thank you Abilene Fire for the training!

05/22/2026

I have been asked many times how state support for wildfires works in Kansas, so if you are interested I will do my best to explain how this works. (If you are in the TLDR crowd, the attached graphic provides a basic explanation. Apologies for the AI graphic, but I am not a talented graphic artist.)

1) Fire protection is Kansas is a local responsibility handled by cities, townships, Fire districts and counties. If a wildfire exhausts all local resources and neighboring departments mutual aid, the Fire Chief contacts their county emergency manager and requests state assistance with identifying and dispatching fire trucks for other areas of the state.

2) The county emergency manager communicates with the Kansas Division of Emergency Management (KDEM) duty officer, submitting a resource request for the types of fire trucks, firefighters, and equipment they need.

3 &4) KDEM activates “Emergency Support Function 4” and the state forest service and state fire marshal work together to fill the requests from the county. Forestry focuses on deploying firefighting aircraft operated by state contractors and out of state resources, if needed. The state fire marshal coordinates response of in-state fire department, soliciting departments to provide their fire trucks and firefighters for 48 or more hours.

Almost all resources are provided by local governments, with limited state assets- such as KDOT dump trucks serving as water supply tenders to shuttle water to fires in rural areas.

5 & 6) Fire departments respond to a poll indicating if they have fire trucks and firefighters to send and how long they are available. When resources are assigned, priority is given to departments who can provide crews for at least 48 hours. whenever possible, agencies are asked to talk with neighbors to form “ Task Forces“ or Strike Teams” made up of five fire trucks, firefighters and a team leader. This is a national practice that makes management of resources easier on the incident commander and increases firefighter safety. Ideally, under the Incidenet Management System, one leader should not supervise more than 5 resources. This is known as “span of control”.

7) Task Forces, Strike Teams, and some specialized single resources provide the name of the firefighters deploying, a list of the trucks responding, they are assigned a task force number and given a time and location to report to. This may be a state staging site near the disaster or in smaller incidents, teams may be sent directly to an incident commander. The staging manager ensures that incoming resources are fueled, full of water, have the proper radio channels selected, and will assign them to the area they are most needed at that time.

The state DOES NOT command any of these incidents- instead they are directed locally with state agencies supporting local incident commanders. State employees are not permitted to conduct command roles or make decisions for a local jurisdiction.

8) Once a team or resource is assigned to a local incident, that incident commander is generally responsible for logistically supporting them, providing fueling sites, food, etc. While teams are deployed on state tastings, KDEM arranges for hotels for the deployed firefighters whenever possible. Firefighters are required to get at least 8 hours rest per 24 hours deployed, unless there is an immediate danger to the public.

After the incident, fire departments are eligible for reimbursement from the state for their firefighters pay, use of their fire trucks, damage to their equipment, and other deployment expenses.

As some of you may know, the City of Enterprise Fire Department is a proud member of the Dickinson County Wildland Task ...
05/22/2026

As some of you may know, the City of Enterprise Fire Department is a proud member of the Dickinson County Wildland Task Force. When requested, the Task Force assists departments throughout the county and across the state in combating large grass fires. So far this year, we have responded to seven deployments.

Most recently, on Thursday, May 14, the Task Force was deployed to southwest Kansas to assist with the fires near Meade, Minneola, and Ashland. During our deployment, crews were assigned to combat active head fires and patrol extinguished fire lines to prevent rekindles.

On Tuesday, May 19, Truck 62 safely returned to quarters. Throughout this deployment, we had the opportunity to work alongside several outstanding fire departments from across the state, all sharing the same dedication and determination to bring these fires under control.

Words cannot fully express how proud I am of our department, the Task Force, and everyone we had the privilege of working beside.

John Vahsholtz
Fire Chief
City of Enterprise Fire Department

05/22/2026

Over 200 firefighters from at least 52 counties and 7 states left their jobs, families, and traveled hundreds of miles to help protect the life and property of those in Clark, Meade, and Morton Counties. Join us in thanking these dedicated firefighters who represented these counties and states for all their hard work.

Firefighters from Anderson, Barber, Barton, Brown, Butler, Camanche, Cherokee, Clark, Coffey, Cowley, Crawford, Dickinson, Edwards, Ellis, Finney, Ford, Geary, Grant, Gray, Greenwood, Hamilton, Haskell, Hodgeman, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Kearny, Kiowa, Kingman, Labette, Lane, Lincoln, Lyon, Marion, Marshall, McPherson, Meade, Miami, Mitchell, Montgomery, Morton, Ness, Osage, Ottawa, Pawnee, Pratt, Reno, Rice, Riley, Rush, Saline, Scott, Sedgwick, Seward, Shawnee, Stanton, Stevens, Sumner, and Wyandotte.

Engine crews and additional support also came from Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and Wyoming.

Many in Clark, Meade, and Morton Counties have a long road ahead of them. As this phase of the fire ends, please continue to keep these communities in your thoughts and support those rebuilding in its aftermath. The strength, resilience, and generosity shown over the past week are a powerful reminder that in times of crisis, neighbors helping neighbors make all the difference.

On his way home from the fire area, Southeast District Fire Management Officer Aaron Williams captured a striking rainbow stretching across the sky in Clark County. After days of smoke, exhaustion, and difficult fire conditions, the image felt like a fitting reminder of this past week. Storms eventually give way to clearer skies, and even in the hardest moments, there are signs of hope and resilience ahead.

🚨 Stay weather aware today as storms roll in 🚨 Hail to be expected with high winds 💨 If needed the shelter will be open!...
05/18/2026

🚨 Stay weather aware today as storms roll in 🚨

Hail to be expected with high winds 💨

If needed the shelter will be open! 🏠

Stay safe, but most of all STAY ALERT!

We ask that you continue to keep our Wildland task force in your prayers as they are still out in Meade, KS fighting fir...
05/17/2026

We ask that you continue to keep our Wildland task force in your prayers as they are still out in Meade, KS fighting fire.

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103 East 2nd Street
Enterprise, KS
67441

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