BY JOE JENNINGS
Where can you find a one-of-a-kind, fully functional fire department that operates for only 11 days each year? Missouri, the Show-Me State, boasts of just such a department!
The Missouri State Fair Fire Department (MSFFD), created specifically to address fire safety concerns at the annual state fair, is a permanent committee of the Fire Fighters Association of Missouri (FFAM). It’s the only fully functional fire department in the United States that operates for only 11 days each year. The FFAM is a statewide association comprised of fire service members and supporters dedicated to disseminating reliable fire service information, promoting mutual aid in fire/rescue services, and encouraging cooperation with law enforcement agencies.
THE BEGINNING
Founded in 1962 as a collaboration between the FFAM and the Missouri State Fair director, the MSFFD’s original purpose was public fire safety education. It offered a firefighting display for the fair’s thousands of annual visitors, emphasizing fire prevention, fire safety, and fire suppression; static displays were supported with pamphlets, lectures, and demonstrations. Staffed by firefighters who volunteered from across the state, the MSFFD was originally housed in a 250-square-foot army surplus tent. Fire personnel and visitors were subject to the thunderstorms, the heat, the humidity, and the dust of mid-Missouri in August.
Restroom and shower facilities were few and far between on the fairgrounds, making those first days of service even more challenging. The early MSFFD personnel, with primitive accommodations, withstood all that nature could throw at them and established a firm foundation for the department’s future.
THE MISSION EXPANDS
The mission of the MSFFD, like many other departments across the nation, has changed over the years as it identified additional demands for service. In 1965, the MSFFD’s role expanded from public education to providing fire protection and ambulance service for the entire fairgrounds, which up until then was provided by the local fire department and ambulance service. Jurisdictions throughout Missouri loaned the MSFFD fire apparatus, including three engines and two jeeps, and 50 firefighters volunteered their time and expertise to staff the department.
The advantage of on-site fire protection became apparent during the 1965 State Fair, when a race car went out of control and careened into the grandstands, causing several deaths and multiple injuries. On-scene fire personnel brought order out of the chaos and assisted the injured fairgoers.
In 1968, the MSFFD moved to a permanent fire station, to which a 5,000-square-foot addition was added in 1992. The station has four apparatus bays and provides climate-controlled housing for up to 77 firefighters. The facility is available during the remainder of the year for meetings and statewide training classes and serves as the focal point for educational presentations and interaction with the public.
The MSFFD started delivering advanced life support (ALS) emergency medical services (EMS) in 1981. The department offers ambulance treatment/transport services and maintains a first-aid triage and treatment center at the fire station. All medical services are provided at no cost to the patient.
CURRENT OPERATIONS
The MSFFD protects 45 permanent buildings, hundreds of temporary structures, travel trailers, and tents throughout the 400-acre fairgrounds. The fair’s attendance averages between 30,000 and 50,000 daily, totaling nearly 350,000 attendees annually. In cooperation with the Missouri State Fire Marshal’s Office, the MSFFD conducts fire inspections to identify safety and fire-related hazards. Inspections encompass all vendor areas, permanent and temporary buildings, and the midway carnival rides. Personnel also replace batteries in smoke detectors throughout the fairgrounds.
The department is staffed by 75 members daily who serve in shifts to provide 24-hour fire suppression and ALS services throughout the fair. Personnel come from a variety of paid and volunteer agencies; all chief and company officers and firefighters donate their time. The department personnel are FFAM members who apply to volunteer each August. Nearly 50 agencies from across Missouri are represented in the MSFFD.
Department operations continue to expand and currently use four engines, five ambulances, and five EMS quick-response carts, all on loan from fire agencies across the state for the 11-day fair. The command staff is comprised of the fire chief, an assistant chief, a deputy chief, two battalion chiefs, four engine captains, an EMS captain, a captain/dispatch supervisor, and a captain/public information officer. Expenses for the MSFFD operations are offset through a contractual agreement with the Missouri State Fair administration.
2010 FAIR
The 2010 fair provided a wide array of emergency incidents, compounded by the variable and sometimes severe weather conditions. The first four days of the fair ushered in temperatures exceeding 95°F with high humidity, resulting in 50 emergencies.
The large-venue public concerts in the Pepsi Grandstand at times suffered severe weather including high winds, frequent lightning, and torrential rain and hail. MSFFD personnel had to assist with evacuating 12,000 patrons from the two Friday night performances. Prior to the 2011 fair, there was no plan for evacuating the concerts. For these incidents, we learned as we did it (photo 1).
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| (1) Photos by author unless otherwise noted. |
Following the 2010 fair, the State Fair Committee and the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) worked with the fair’s administration to develop an emergency plan for the fairgrounds, especially for an incident occurring during an event at the grandstand. The plan includes procedures for evacuating attendees from the track area seating and from the grandstand. A new public service announcement is now read at the beginning of every grandstand show that explains the procedures to follow in an emergency.
The MSHP, the MSFFD, and fair security have a set plan for monitoring the weather and warning the public in case of severe weather. All three agencies’ dispatch centers monitor weather conditions and maintain contact with the National Weather Service. When a severe weather threat is determined, the security chief, the fire chief, and the MSHP supervisor determine the action to take, including evacuating and sheltering campground and other fair visitors. Personnel had to evacuate a concert for the first time as a result of the severe storms of 2010. The storm of the 2011 fair discussed below was the first time that patrons were evacuated from the campgrounds to shelter.
This emergency plan’s importance came to light on August 13, 2011, when a stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair killed seven and injured dozens more. The MSFFD plan was in place prior to the Indiana incident. Its development shows the importance of proactive thinking and cooperation between the public safety agencies and the fair’s administration.
Personnel also responded to such emergencies ranging from heat cases, traumas, and other medical events to overheating street sweepers and arcing power lines. One incident required removing a patron from a carnival ride (photo 2). Crews responded to 122 emergency incidents and treated 215 patients in First Aid.
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Two major incidents garnered local and statewide media attention. On August 14, 2010, at 8:45 p.m., the MSFFD received an emergency call for a tent collapse. The report initially stated that there were several injuries and that occupants were trapped under the large hospitality tent.
Chief Rick Dozier arrived on scene within two minutes and found that no one was trapped beneath the collapsed tent but did confirm there were several injuries. A young boy and his mother and another woman were among the injured. All three patients were transported by MSFFD EMS to Bothwell Regional Health Center in Sedalia with serious to moderate injuries. The young boy was later transferred to a Kansas City area trauma center with serious head injuries.
The second incident occurred during the annual all-terrain vehicle (ATV) racing at the state fair arena. A 16-year-old male was injured when he was thrown from his all-terrain vehicle. MSFFD EMS provided lifesaving treatment for the patient, who was then transported by air ambulance from the fairgrounds to University Hospital in Columbia.
Fire and EMS personnel participated in hundreds of hours of varied training. Fire crews covered topics such as ropes and knots, vehicle extrication and vehicle fires, and structural firefighting. In photo 3, the MSSFD conducts mutual-aid training with neighboring fire departments, using another fire department’s propane-fueled live fire training trailer. EMS crews trained on controlling bleeding and on special considerations in treating geriatric patients.
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Along with emergency incident response and daily training, personnel provided many hours of fire service public relations and education to fairgoers, such as demonstrating the effectiveness of fire sprinklers (photo 4). They conducted hands-on fire extinguisher training (photo 5) and demonstrations involving vehicle fire extinguishment and extrication (photo 6), personal protective equipment, self-contained breathing apparatus, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The Southern Stone County Fire Protection District Technical Rescue Team performed a demonstration from the rear of the grandstand. In addition, the MSFFD handed out public education materials and provided tours of fire apparatus and the Sedalia Fire Department’s Safety House, which had been loaned to the MSFFD. Daily appearances by Smokey Bear and the Patches and Pumper robot also provided a fun and educational experience for fairgoers (photo 7).
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| Photo 4 by John Hesson. |
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2011 FAIR
In 2011, the MSFFD had a total of 94 emergency calls. These incidents included 47 medical, 25 trauma, 10 medical transfers, two electrical fires, two gas leaks, an explosion, a motor vehicle accident, a vehicle fire, a fire investigation, a structure fire, and an assist to State Fair Security. Crews also treated 192 patients in First Aid.
Responders faced such challenging weather conditions as strong, straight-line winds, lightning, and heavy rainfall during the early morning of Friday, August 19, 2011. Because of severe storm damage, the fairgrounds were closed for most of the business day. The plan that was developed for the entire fairgrounds has been in place for a number of years but had never been fully executed. The actions taken were also considered a learning experience and will most likely lead to a revision in the future. The MSFFD, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and State Fair Security began evacuating an estimated 350 to 400 campers into the Mohler Assembly Hall and Mathewson Exhibition Center at approximately 12:22 a.m. By evacuating campers to these buildings, crews prevented any storm-related injuries.
The storm damaged numerous tents and lightweight portable structures, and the fairgrounds lost power. One camper was overturned, but the owners were already in the established shelter. No major damage was caused to any permanent fairground structures. As a learning experience from the 2011 fair, it is now standard practice that in a severe weather event all operations are dispatched through the fire department’s dispatch center, and a representative from security comes to the MSFFD dispatch center to assist. Prior to this standard, both agencies operated communications in their separate dispatch centers. By combining resources in times of need, the agencies can continually work together to better communicate and use resources.
During that storm, at 2:11 a.m., the MSFFD provided the first mutual-aid response in its history to the Sedalia Fire Department, providing one engine to assist with fire suppression and overhaul at a structure fire. The second mutual-aid call occurred that day at 6:18 p.m. The MSFFD was requested to respond to Sedalia Fire Station 1 to provide coverage.
With the number of fair attendees and attractions growing annually, the MSFFD and FFAM leadership are prepared for a corresponding increase in fire service demand. The MSFFD’s continued success depends on the individual firefighters donating their time and fire departments loaning their equipment and apparatus. Providing a safe environment for those attending the fair will remain a paramount function of the agency—11 days at a time.
JOE JENNINGS is the captain and public information officer for the Missouri State Fair Fire Department, a training lieutenant with the Johnson County (MO) Fire Protection District, and a firefighter/emergency medical technician B with the Logan-Rogersville Fire Protection District. Involved in the fire service since 2004, he is studying public administration and human resource management at Missouri State University in Springfield.
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