Cawker City Fire Department

02/24/2026

Get with any department member or message us on here.

02/13/2026

Please like, share and have your department join us!

Mitchell Co will be putting on a fire school in May.

Classes will start at 0800 daily!

10/29/2025

05/07/2025

30 years ago, you had 17 minutes to escape a house fire. Today, it’s only 3 or 4 minutes. Why? Most of what’s in our homes is synthetic.

In the past, homes were built with solid wood and filled with natural materials like cotton, wool, and real leather. Fires in those homes spread slowly, giving people time to wake up, respond, and escape.

But today, almost everything in our homes – from the couch and carpet to the mattress, curtains, and even the coffee table – is made with synthetic, petroleum-based materials. These materials ignite faster, burn hotter, and release more toxic gases when they burn. A fire that once gave you over a quarter of an hour to escape can now consume an entire room in under three minutes.

In tests conducted by Underwriters Laboratories, two rooms – one styled like the 1970s, the other like a modern living – were set on fire. The legacy room, filled with older, natural furnishings, took over 30 minutes to burn. The modern room, packed with synthetics, was fully engulfed in flames in just three minutes. That’s all the time you’d have to realize what’s happening, alert your family, and get out.

It’s not just about the speed of the fire; it’s also about what’s burning. Modern fires release more toxic smoke, including carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide, which can overwhelm you before the flames ever reach you. Fire experts say smoke inhalation is the leading cause of death in home fires, not burns.

That’s why having working smoke alarms and a practiced escape plan is more important than ever. Alarms should be installed on every level of your home and inside every sleeping area. You should test them monthly, replace the batteries regularly, and replace the alarm itself every ten years. Families should know two ways out of every room, where to meet outside, and what to do when the alarm sounds, and that plan should be practiced, not just discussed.

The materials in our homes aren’t likely to change any time soon. But how we prepare can. And preparation is what turns three minutes into a chance at survival.

Learn more: https://www.today.com/home/newer-homes-furniture-burn-faster-giving-you-less-time-escape-t65826

10/21/2024

Our condolences to Matt’s family during this difficult time. Matt was a fellow firefighter and large asset to the Cawker City community. He will be deeply missed.

View Matt Alford's obituary, send flowers, find service dates, and sign the guestbook.

10/18/2024

We had some special visitors at the station today! Thank you to the Lakeside Pre-K classes for stopping by!

06/05/2024

The Mitchell County Rescue Squad and Mitchell County EMS placed an order of 500 Roth ID Tags. These are tags that a parent will fill out information on for an alternate emergency contact and is placed on the carseat for cases where parents are incompasitated with children in the car. First responders will notice the lable on the carseat and be able to access the information. We will be giving these out to the public FREE of charge. We will have booth at the Mitchell County fair where we will have them available. We will also be doing live demonstrations. We will update you again when we get our tags delivered and we are ready to start handing them out. Please share this post as we are trying to reach as much of the community as possible.
https://rothidtag.com/

05/09/2024

**For Immediate Release**

The Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office is participating in KDOT’s Click It or Ticket Campaign.

Campaign dates: May 19- June 2, 2024

Every day we make hundreds of choices. The easiest one should be wearing your seat belt. While it is a fact that seat belts save lives, many still make the choice to not buckle up.

In the Click It or Ticket campaign, while all Kansas traffic laws will be enforced, the primary focus will be on the adult seat belt and child safety laws.
During Click It or Ticket, drivers will be met with extra enforcement by our agency.

We will be on the lookout for the unrestrained drivers, passengers, and children traveling our roads.

According to Sheriff Perez,

"Your seat belt could be what saves you and those riding with you. Insist that everyone in the vehicle is restrained on every trip."

"I also want people to know that in the interest of saving lives, the Mitchell County Sheriff's Office is committed to ticketing and educating the violators of adult seat belt and child safety laws, as well as other traffic infractions because we want you to be as safe as possible on your travels."

04/05/2024

04/05/2024

Recently members of the Cawker City Fire Department meet and did some annual hose testing.