In this episode:
In this episode of the Firefighter After Action Review Podcast, Kansas City Fire Department leaders—including Chief of Department Ross Grunden, Chief Ted Henry, and Battalion Chief Mike Hopkins, and Retired Firefighter John Sirna recall the 1988 Highway 71 explosion that killed 6 firefighters. This discussion covers the details of the 1988 incident, how it impacted the department and led to the creation of the KCFD’s hazmat response capabilities, as well as the lasting legacy of these tragic events.
Firefighter After Action Review Podcast: Kansas City reaches back through more than 75 years of pivotal moments to explore how the Kansas City, Missouri Fire Department (KCMO) has transformed tragedy into progress. Through the lens of significant line-of-duty death (LODD) events, this series highlights how KCMO has consistently taken proactive steps to improve firefighter safety—not just for their department, but for the entire fire service.
From leading efforts to move gasoline storage tanks underground to developing systems for sharing hazardous materials data across agencies, KCMO has laid the groundwork for policies and practices that many departments rely on today. Each episode examines how the department’s response to loss has driven innovation and changed the course of fire service history.
A typical fire service career spans about 25 years. The stories told in this series span three full generations of service. As seasoned personnel retire and new firefighters take their place, these lessons must not be forgotten. Firefighter After Action Review Podcast: Kansas City honors those who came before by passing on their hard-earned knowledge—ensuring that every generation builds on the legacy of the last.
We certainly heard the stories about it. It was one of the things they told us when we came out of the academy and started working in the stations. It was a cautionary tale.
Remembering
From the time that I came into it, there was, from some members of KCFD that really laid the foundation prior to me getting there in that mid-eighties, was the fire service really started that development of hazmat, hazmat response teams, and the recognition that there's a greater hazard out there than we may recognize.
