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Fire Department

The Great Bend Fire Department is a career fire/emergency medical service serving the City of Great Bend since 1874. Our department is comprised of 28 shift members along with the Fire Chief, Deputy Fire Chief, Fire Inspector and Department Secretary. Each of the three shifts contain a battalion chief, captain, lieutenant, engineers and firefighters and each work 24-hour shifts. All personnel are highly trained in the most recent firefighting and EMS techniques.

The department provides fire protection and rescue for the City of Great Bend and residents in the following townships: Buffalo, Liberty, South Bend, and Great Bend. In addition, the department provides EMS response and transportation to the City of Great Bend, townships, and the Cities of Albert and Pawnee Rock. The total population served is 20,000 people, and the average response time is 3.5 minutes in the city and eight minutes in the county.

The department currently has two staffed stations in the City and one unstaffed station at the Great Bend Municipal Airport.

Vision Statement

Make Great Bend a "Premier Department" where people want to thrive, grow and provide outstanding emergency services to the citizens of our community.

FAQs

All fire apparatus are Advanced Life Support (ALS) equipped and staffed at a minimum level of an EMT. In the instance that all four ambulances are busy with other medical calls or may be too far away to respond within the average 3 ½ minute response time an engine or fire truck is dispatched to respond.

Police officers may respond to ambulance calls depending on the nature of the call. Police officers often respond to assist with scene safety or to assist if additional manpower is needed.

This is done for everyone’s safety. By blocking the lanes, all individuals involved are able to work more diligently to clear the incident and provide assistance quicker.

If it is a public fire hydrant, please call City of Great Bend Water Department at 620-793-4150. If it is a private fire hydrant, the property owner is responsible for all repairs. It is advised that they contact a licensed plumber.

Yes, station tours can be scheduled by contacting us at 620-793-4140. See our Community page for more information on station tours and other community involvement activities.

Not anymore, special training is required in order to install child car seats and none on the current staff is qualified to do so.

Please reach out to the Barton County Health Department at (620) 793-1902 for questions regarding child car seat instillation.

A full list of requirements can be found under our Employment page.
The Great Bend Fire Department will only gain entry to your vehicle if there is a child or pet inside the vehicle.
No we do not.
Yes, if the smoke alarm is too high for the resident to reach, if the resident is disabled or elderly or if they are unable to climb on a ladder to replace the batteries contact Station #1 at 620-793-4140 to schedule a time.
Yes, all fire personnel are also trained to a minimum level of an EMT. This allows all firefighter/EMS staff to provide both fire and EMS care as situations may require.