KCK fire union, Chief Dennis Rubin remain divided over staffing as he departs

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — KSHB 41 reporter Rachel Henderson covers neighborhoods in Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties. Share your story idea with Rachel.

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Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Chief Dennis Rubin announced his resignation Friday.

I spoke with Rubin and Kansas City, Kansas, Professional Firefighters Association (IAFF Local 64) President JJ Simma about Rubin's departure and staffing concerns during Rubin's tenure.

His reason for leaving, Rubin says, is simple.

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"It's been absolutely spectacular, but it's time for me to head back east and spend time with my family," Rubin said.

Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Rubin was hired in June 2023 to lead the KCK Fire Department. He was initially hired to serve six months.

"Seven times my original assignment has caused a lot of angst for my family," Rubin said. "I'm surprised that I stayed here this long, only because I came as the temporary person."

Accomplishments

Rubin points to several accomplishments during his tenure.

He says the department saved about $5 million through reduced expenditures and personnel costs — about $2.68 million of that through limiting overtime to one to two days.

He also invested in staff education and training, helping fire department employees earn undergraduate degrees and attend the National Fire Academy. Rubin also said he worked to strengthen the department's disciplinary process.

Staffing: the defining controversy

Despite those accomplishments, staffing was a persistent and contentious issue throughout Rubin's time as chief.

JJ Simma, president of IAFF Local 64, says 2025 numbers show the department endured staffing shortages on roughly 50% of shifts. Simma said sometimes there were shortages on as many as four apparatus in a single shift.

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He says the department does not meet national standards — a minimum of four firefighters per apparatus — even on pumper trucks on a daily basis.

Ladder trucks and specialty apparatus also were reduced from four firefighters to three on some shifts. Simma says this has continued into 2026.

"The staffing's been the issue," Simma said. "It's been the issue for nearly two years. It was driven by budgetary decisions, but where we felt like it was much more often, much more consistent and regular, the shortages, than it was necessary.”

Simma says the department's revenue neutral budget plan was supposed to end on January 1, 2026, but instead, they’ve been operating with the same constraints.

He also says union members are being regularly pulled off apparatus to backfill command staff positions — further reducing front-line staffing.

Simma says the union has made offers for solutions to the problems and they remain open to finding solutions.

That includes reprioritizing existing budget expenses toward restaffing apparatus without necessarily adding more money. But he says the response has been discouraging.

"Now we're another, going into 10 months staffing in that same capacity, and it's a concern," Sima said. "It's a safety concern. The answers simply have been, 'It's not possible, we can't do that,'" pretty consistently.”

He says he understands the idea of budget constraints, but not at the expense of safety.

"Certainly, there's a lot of other components of a fire department budget, but we need to be prioritizing simply that. Safety and service of the public, and we don't feel like that's been done," Simma said.

An investigation found inadequate staffing on emergency vehicles contributed to injuries four firefighters sustained in a December 2025 floor collapse.

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All four firefighters have recovered, according to Simma on Tuesday.

Those frustrations eventually reached a breaking point.

"It kind of culminated in a vote of no confidence in the spring of 2026 because this issue's not fixing," Simma said. "It's not correcting. We're still putting people on the streets, running apparatus short."

The former county administrator, who also received a vote of no confidence, resigned earlier this year.

On August 5, IAFF Local 64 filed a civil lawsuit in federal court against the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas.

Simma declined to comment on the pending legal matter.

Rubin responds

Rubin firmly denied the union's actions had anything to do with his decision to leave.

"Not even close," he said. "I looked for some documents, but I told them by the end of this year, I would be leaving."

He pushed back strongly on the idea that he ever opposed proper staffing levels.

"I know there's a mantra about the need for firefighters," Rubin said. "I don't think I ever misspoke in that regard. Every fire department should strive to have four persons on a fire truck. I think I lead that charge. I think if you look back over my record regularly I pointed to that, and I'll continue to point to that. The belief, if there's even a slight one, that I'm against that is absolutely erroneous and wrong. Now the other side of that is it all has to fit within the budget.”

He compared the gap between the union's staffing goals and what is financially feasible to wanting a luxury car on a tight budget.

"I think their biggest concern is staffing," Rubin said. "Mine as well. However, it's like perhaps you may want a Porsche. And I hope you get one. But probably your budget today doesn't handle being able to make two-or three- or four-thousand-dollar payments a month. So, it's the same concern."

Rubin noted fire department funding is set at a level above his own, and that staffing is governed by the union contract and state law. He suggested that new economic development could eventually help close the funding gap.

"Maybe the new Chiefs stadium might bring a significant amount," he said."So if that's the kind of things you're looking at, and I would suspect the new Buc-ee's and other economic development might be the answer to bring about an appropriate solution that would allow the fire department to have the resources."

Rubin said he'd also like to see the conditions at several fire stations improve, something he and Simma have discussed with KSHB over the past couple years.

He also commented on the contention between the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, and the fire union regarding speaking with commissioners, which is the basis of the pending lawsuit.

“I think what the city’s position is, is that the city refuses to violate the law,” Rubin said. “In other words, staffing is in the contract. And because it’s in the contract, it is managed by state law, and the city will not take the chance of being in violation of the law. Based on our outside counsel, to me it’s cut-and-dry and it simply makes sense.”

What's next

Simma says the union remains optimistic about what the next fire chief could bring.

"Are we optimistic? Certainly. You're always optimistic, and you should be — for what's coming next and what you're going to be able to try to accomplish next — and that's what our focus is on now," Simma said.

He says the union wants the next chief to be collaborative, experienced, with command experience and the long-term in mind.

"That's what we're looking for," Simma said. "Let's have the conversations. We may not always agree, but let's have the conversations, and if there's something that we can do, let's try to get it done."

Rubin's time as fire chief ends October 31. The Unified Government will announce interim leadership while conducting a national search for the next chief.

Rubin says he does not believe the city will look outside for a candidate this time, though the decision is not his to make.

"The people will be the biggest missing component of my life," Rubin said.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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