NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — After a fire in the grandstand during the 2021 Kansas State Fair, Hutchinson Fire Chief Steve Beer is doing everything his department can to make sure that doesn't happen this year.
"When I pulled up on scene, there was flames coming out of the vent at the grandstand," Beer said. "It was all hands on deck. We're out there trying to educate the volunteers that work out there at the fair during that time period. My community risk reduction division, Wednesday and Thursday, they will be out there trying to educate people."
There are all kinds of potential hazards that firefighters see that we don't.
"Even on the EMS side of things, it could be grease burns," Beer said. "Propane tanks that aren't chained together. We see overloaded outlets, hidden exit signs. You name it, we see it up there, blocked exits. We just want to be proactive, talk to the residents, talk to the community members up there and just do a great educational period."
The hope is if they can get all of that dealt with while setup is going on, then when the fair is on, they don't have to be noticed at all.
"Sometimes, there's a 20 amp circuit, but we have it way overloaded with different machines in different outlets and different electrical appliances that are all plugged in there," Beer said. "These systems are typically older in some of these buildings and they are just not rated for that capacity."
The firefighters will do their best to explain to vendors another way to get their business needs accomplished without creating either fire or potential exit issues.