Washington County Kansas Emergency Management

Washington County Kansas Emergency Management Responsible for the coordination of all the components of the Emergency Management System within Was

The primary obligation of the emergency manager, regardless of authority, is to “protect and preserve the safety” of the citizens of Washington County. The emergency manager must develop relationships with emergency response agencies to facilitate inter-agency operations in an emergency. Inter-agency challenges must dissolve into a seamless emergency response when needed, but the emergency manage

r must also be aware of the limits of each department. It’s frequently the duty of the emergency manager to create and use joint training exercises to highlight and correct weaknesses in emergency response. The emergency manager’s next duty is to coordinate emergency response efforts. As FEMA notes in its emergency manager training, it’s not the emergency manager’s job to direct police or firefighting activities, but to ensure that the plans for both are implemented as required. An emergency response, such as that required by a major disaster, will include relief efforts, assistance to victims on site and evacuees, and reconstruction in addition to a police, medical and fire department response. The emergency manager is responsible for raising community awareness of emergency preparedness and response. By bringing volunteers from the community into the emergency response system, either in an administrative function or as trained, volunteer community responders, the emergency manager can effectively augment the emergency response force and relieve some of the burden from professional responders. Effective training programs for volunteers are available from FEMA and from organizations such as the Red Cross. The emergency manager must develop and maintain good relationships with the members of the media as part of the emergency manager’s job is disseminating emergency information by the most expeditious means possible, the media – from bloggers to newspapers and television – are invaluable conduits for spreading not only “the word,” but the official word, including information to minimize the impact of an impending disaster.

09/06/2026
09/05/2026

Marshall County can be very proud of our very own Sara Naaf , Emergency Management Assistant as she was nominated for the Outstanding New Emergency Management Professional Award at this year’s KEMA Conference. She did not receive the top award, but just to be nominated, tells you how much she has done for Marshall County and the Emergency Management Profession across the State of Kansas.
Most of you see her videos, weekly updates, and such. Sara does so much more behind the scenes, helping to establish command of incidents and logistics, making sure everyone has what they need to do the job at hand. In the office she is busy taking classes, helping with budgets, paying bills, working on exercises for the county. THE BIG ONE; ALWAYS WORKING ON PLANS FOR THE COUNTY UPDATES, new information always needs to be entered, all of our plans are fluid we try to exercise them and adjust as needed and that FOLKS take a lot of time and effort, which she does with a smile.
I will say looking around the room as her name was called and looking at 6-8 other nominees and looking through the crowd at all the new faces. I CAN TELL YOU THAT KANSAS AND MARSHALL COUNTY IS IN GOOD HANDS FOR QUITE SOME TIME.

09/04/2026

Please join us September 11th at 8:30 am on the Washington County Courthouse lawn as Honor, Remember, and Reflect on the 25th Anniversary of the World Trade Center Bombing. Coffee Provided by the Washington Chamber of Commerce

09/04/2026

One more post about the KEMA Conference and the final wrap up on Emergency Management Awareness Month...

While he didn't bring home the top trophy, our very own Bill "Toad" Schwindamann, Director of Marshall County Emergency Management, was nominated for both the Mentorship Excellence Award and Emergency Manager of the Year Award!

Kansas is fortunate to have so many talented, dedicated emergency managers across the state, and we are all better for it. But award or no award, we already know we have one of the very best right here at home.

Thank you, Toad, for your steady leadership, endless patience as a mentor, and tireless dedication to keeping Marshall County safe. From always having extra safety vests, a cooler of water on emergency scenes, helping with signage, to keeping our community and first responders safe in so many ways...we are incredibly grateful for everything you do for our county every single day!

09/03/2026

Due to an active fire at the County Landfill station, only C & D is being accepted. Household Trash is not being accepted at this time 

09/03/2026

An Extreme Heat Warning is in effect until 7 PM Tuesday for portions of central, east central, north central, and northeast Kansas with heat index values up to 108°F. Limit outdoor activity, stay hydrated, and never leave kids or pets in vehicles.

09/03/2026

If you are in the Palmer area, this is moving down the highway south on Highway 15 towards Clay County, just a heads up.

09/02/2026

Update 11:27am
Power has been restored to the Greenleaf Substation.
If you are still with out power please contact the Bluestem office.
Thank you for your patience.

Update 10:35am:
The entire substation is off now while crews make repair to burnt up equipment in the substation.
Thank you for your patience while repairs are being made as safe and soon as possible by the line crews.

Power Outage: 9/2/2026 10:15am.

Greenleaf Substation has one circuit off.
Crews are on site and the entire substation will need to be shut down in order to make repairs.

08/31/2026

The heat continues across the area today with most of the area seeing afternoon heat indices rise to or near advisory levels. Practice heat safety and take it easy if spending long periods of time outdoors.

Address

214 C. Street
Washington, KS
66968

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

+17853252134

Website

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