When Wichita firefighters open the doors to Fire Station One each morning, they’re greeted by the remnants of decades of neglect. Leaky windows from the 1970s are sealed with duct tape. Ceilings drip from water damage. Pipes are half-repaired. And a critical fire engine has been broken down for four months.
These aren’t minor inconveniences—they’re symptomatic of a larger crisis facing Wichita’s fire department: decades of deferred maintenance with no clear path to resolution. But some firefighters say this March, voters will have the chance to change that.
The group behind Wichita’s proposed one percent sales tax says the revenue would go directly to supporting essential city services. Fire departments would be among the biggest beneficiaries, and for good reason. “It’s been a decades-long problem with the fire department and deferred maintenance,” says Ted Bush, president of the Wichita Firefighters Union.
The problems are everywhere you look. At Fire Station One, original windows leak cold air. The roof leaks. Beds are broken. In the locker room, pipes that were supposedly repaired remain in terrible condition—so bad that firefighters faced sewage leaks just trying to maintain basic facilities.
And the damage extends to critical equipment. That four-month breakdown of a newer engine means firefighters are relying on a reserve truck that’s roughly 20 years old—hardly the kind of equipment response needed for a modern fire department.
