Northwest Fire District

10/10/2026

Over the last year, your Northwest Fire District firefighters have been working on replacing our attack hoses as most of them were well over 20 years old. The new hoses were delivered within the last ten days, and today we got them along with the new nozzles we purchased as well. The new attack package we built was designed to flow a higher volume of water at lower pressures than our legacy hoses. The lower pressure means less wear and tear on our equipment, as well as easier work loads on our firefighters. We owe a huge thank you to the fire board and most importantly to the citizens of Northwest Fire District. Thank you so much for the support of our organization.

09/16/2026

Boil Water Advisory Rescinded for the City of Pomona, Franklin County
TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has rescinded a boil water advisory for the City of Pomona public water supply system located in Franklin County. The advisory was issued because of a waterline break resulting in a loss of pressure in the distribution system. Failure to maintain adequate pressure may result in a loss of chlorine residuals and bacterial contamination.
Public water suppliers in Kansas take all measures necessary to notify customers quickly after a system failure or shutdown. Regardless of whether it’s the supplier or KDHE that announces a boil water advisory, KDHE will issue the rescind notice following testing at a certified laboratory.
Laboratory testing of drinking water samples collected from the City of Pomona indicate no evidence of bacteriological contamination and all other conditions that placed the system at risk of contamination are deemed by KDHE officials to be resolved.
For consumer questions, please contact the water system at: 785-566-3522 or you may call KDHE at 785-296-5514. For consumer information please visit our webpage: https://www.kdhe.ks.gov/468/Disruption-in-Water-Service.

09/04/2026

Hot weather continues across the area into next week. Please continue to be cautious and take extra breaks, as well as drinking plenty of water.

08/13/2026

08/11/2026

High heat and higher heat indexes have returned to the area. Please be very careful, and make sure to drink lots of water.

High temperatures in the mid/upper 90s with heat indices around 105 become the norm for the next several days across northeast Kansas. A Heat Advisory is in effect for today for most of the area. Scattered showers and storms are possible (20-50%) late Wednesday and Thursday evenings - higher chances being along and north of I-70.

08/04/2026

🔥 What are firefighters seeing that raises concern for increased wildfire activity?

One of the biggest concerns is the long-term lack of rainfall across much of Kansas. As dry conditions continue, grasses and other vegetation lose moisture and become more likely to ignite and spread fire. This is especially true in areas with large, continuous stretches of grass or other vegetation that allow a fire to move quickly across the landscape.

🗺️ What does this map show? The numbers on the map represent how much precipitation each area of Kansas is above or below normal. While northeastern Kansas has received above-average rainfall, most of the state is experiencing a precipitation deficit. The longer these rainfall deficits continue, the drier our vegetation becomes and the greater the potential for wildfires.

Kansas has now reached a point where the conditions are being monitored. Kansas Forest Service will coordinate positioning of personnel and resources with our in-state partners, the Office of the State Fire Marshal and the Kansas Division of Emergency Management (KDEM). Together, our goal is to be prepared to assist firefighters and communities in Kansas in responding to large, complex wildfires.

07/27/2026

Extreme heat warning continues for the area. Please be very careful today and over the next couple days. Be sure to drink plenty of water and electrolytes, if you must do outside work do it in the morning or late evening when the sun isn’t so brutal. And make sure to take plenty of breaks to cool off. If for any reason you feel like you need to call 911 because something feels off, please don’t hesitate to call.

The Extreme Heat Warning continues for Franklin, Anderson, Douglas, and Osage Counties in the KOFO listening area until 9 tonight and for Miami and Linn Counties (which were brought under the Extreme Heat Warning yesterday morning at 11:36, canceling the Heat Advisory) until 7 tomorrow morning.

07/25/2026

We are deeply saddened to share that wildland firefighter Nathan Matthews, 43, of Lincoln, Nebraska, died Friday from injuries sustained while responding to the Knowles Fire in western Colorado on June 27. Nate had been receiving medical care for burn injuries sustained during the incident.

Nate was a dedicated member of the R***e Helitack crew out of Colorado and was one of five firefighters involved in a burnover during initial attack operations. Three firefighters – Emily Barker, Nick Hutcherson, and Sydney Watson – died at the scene.

Please keep Nate’s family and the wildland fire community in your thoughts. Information regarding memorial services for Nate will be released at a later date.

https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/fourth-firefighter-dies-following-knowles-fire-burnover-colorado

07/15/2026

Clearly borrowed from another agency page. But it’s a problem we face here as well. We try our best to provide the best service we can at a cost effective level, but it’s getting more and more difficult with the way costs are skyrocketing.

Firefighting has become more and more expensive over the last few years, with cost increases affecting everything from the gear our firefighters need to be safe to the trucks we use to respond.

Personal protective equipment, or PPE is part of the essential outfitting of each of our members, with the costs increasing about 70% over the last few years. None of this equipment is optional - because the safety of our firefighters is not optional.