Lawrence Professional Firefighters

09/07/2026

Members of Local 1596 participated in the 9/11 Stair Climb yesterday, honoring the sacrifice made by firefighters on September 11, 2001.

Your Lawrence firefighters proudly serve on the planning board and as members of the Honor Guard, while also taking part in the climb to remember the 343 firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice that day.

Lloyd Hammerschmidt, aka Hammer, is a retired Lawrence firefighter who continues to be the oldest climber every year. Hammer completed the climb this year at 81 years young.

We’ll never forget.

09/04/2026

Thank you Leon!

🚒 Keeping public safety moving and earning some well-deserved recognition along the way. 🔧👏

Congratulations to Leon McCoy with the City of Lawrence Central Maintenance Garage, who was named Emergency Vehicle Technician of the Year at this year’s Heartland Emergency Apparatus Technician Association training event!

Leon was selected from a group of candidates recognized for their accomplishments and service in keeping emergency vehicles on the road and ready to support public safety.

Leon is a Master Emergency Vehicle Technician and also holds Master ASE certifications. He has quickly become an important part of our Central Maintenance team and the work they do every day to keep the City’s fleet moving.

Please join us in congratulating Leon and thanking the entire Central Maintenance team for the work they do behind the scenes to keep City services moving safely and reliably. 💛

08/28/2026

Let us know what you think!

Help Shape the Future of Your Fire Medical Department

LDCFM is developing our 2027–2028 Strategic Plan, and your feedback is an important part of the process.

Every day, we work to serve our community - and we want our next strategic plan to reflect the priorities of the people we serve. Whether you've interacted with our department or not, we'd love to hear your perspective.

Take a few minutes to complete our community survey: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/g/uPM5a4J4MZ

08/14/2026

Members of Lawrence Professional Firefighters Local 1596 were proud to have the members of our Executive Board attend the 58th IAFF Convention this week.

IAFF Convention provides an opportunity to connect with fellow firefighters and locals from across the USA and Canada. During Convention, these locals introduce and implement policies that affect everything from cancer research to expanding and improving our members working conditions, their health and safety. This helps your Lawrence Firefighters stay informed on the issues and challenges facing the fire service and our union.

From the local level to the international level, we are ALL IN on making sure our firefighters have access to adequate training, research, and support in the areas of health, safety, and workers’ rights.

*Also, don’t hold the Longhorn logo against us, it’s still ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK!

08/10/2026

Congratulations to Patrick Kelly for winning his primary. We support those who support us!

08/10/2026

Congratulations to Suzanne Wikle for winning her primary. We support those who support us!

08/07/2026

Joe Hardy, who has served as interim chief of Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical since December 2024, has been named to the permanent role, the City of Lawrence has announced.

06/04/2026

Hey LKPD, thanks for securing the scene for us 😉 But seriously, thank you for the swift response and we are glad no one was seriously injured in the incident.

A man broke into Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical Station #5 overnight and pulled the fire alarm.

When officers arrived about 1:30 in the morning, firefighters led them to the suspect who was in the kitchen area with blood on his hands.

He admitted he broke a window in the truck bay to get into the station at 19th and Stewart.

The man was arrested without incident and taken to the Douglas County Correctional Facility. He told officers he was seeing people while looking at a blank wall.

No firefighters were injured during the break-in.

04/03/2026

We’re proud to recognize 8 members of the Lawrence Professional Firefighters who recently represented our department at the IAFF Strive for Excellence Summit.

Throughout the event, they took part in leadership development, health and safety education, and hands-on training designed to strengthen skills both on and off the fireground.

A sincere thank you to the International Association of Fire Fighters the IAFF 2nd District, and the Kansas State Council of Firefighters for the outstanding learning opportunities, networking, and hospitality throughout the summit!

03/21/2026

Today we remember Engineer Smith, better known as “Smitty”. Thank you for your service, we have not forgotten you.

In honor to all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, we commemorate: