SEDAN VOLUNTEER FIRE CO.

"SAVE A FIRE COMPANY AND PAVE THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD" The small town of Sedan, Kansas, which claims the "Worlds Longest Yellow Brick Road" is woefully short of funding and is without much needed equipment in order to protect their people, property and first responders. Sedan, in south central Kansas, one of the most impoverished towns in the state, is served and protected by 11 volunteers. Which answer the calls for range fires, lightning strikes, structure fires, search, rescue, EMT, and tornados.
Sedan was the first stop in "Westward Expansion," for the wagon trains leaving St. Louis, and arriving in the Flint Hills at this small, thriving supply town. The big draw was that Sedan had a cistern in the center of town that supplied endless water to the masses that traveled West. Abundant water, game and pasture land was a help to the prairie schooners and residents alike. After the railroad bypassed Sedan, it became a sleepy little town until the cattle, oil and gas booms. As time rolled on, Sedan returned to a sleepy little town once again.
Sedan's boasts include circus clown Emmett Kelly's birthplace and museum, the "Worlds Longest Yellow Brick Road," and Wizard of Oz Festival with blues, parades, and a rocky mountain oyster cook off are the biggest tourist attractions in this 1222 resident town.
The firefighters of Sedan have always made do with what they had. They use old worn out and second hand equipment and often make repairs to their own gear. Not that long ago the firefighters drove to Chicago to procure a 1967 pumper truck.
These firefighters, whom I have never met, except over the phone talking with the Chief, were totally surprised to hear of our fundraising efforts on their behalf. When I was with mutual friends in Kansas the subject of fundraising for volunteer fire co. came up. Chief Smith was called and I was put on the phone. We spoke and I said, "What can you use?" "Anything and everything, our budget is $8000. per year, which rarely covers more than our fuel." My reply, "what if the equipment is ripped or broken?" The Chief replied, "We sew saddles here in Sedan. We can fix anything!" Coming from an East coast town with 2 volunteer fire cos. that recently housed a $677,000 ladder truck, I was humbled by his reply.
Firefighters have become the strongest of all fraternities and sororities and, in my opinion, these people definitely deserve assistance and a helping hand. I am not a firefighter nor a resident of Sedan, I am a visitor who saw an urgent need to support this volunteer station. By starting our website, www.saveandpave.com, we've provided a way for folks to buy a commemorative yellow brick and support the Sedan Fire Co. In less than 3 months we have raised over $3500, to send new and used donated equipment to Kansas.
Often those that need the most, ask for little, and say the least.