KANSAS CITY, Mo. — While many in the metro may hunker down tonight or Wednesday morning because of storms, that's when first responders will be at their busiest.
"It's another day at the office for us," Kansas City Fire Department (KCFD) firefighter Gustavo Jorge said.
Kansas City firefighters are ready to take on any situation, including spring's severe weather.
"It definitely affects call volume, especially once the big storms come in," Jorge said. "Sometimes our resources get stretched pretty thin."
KCFD says they are expecting hundreds of calls on Tuesday night.
"It can be kind of chaos," Jorge said. "We'll joke to each other when we listen to dispatch, it sounds like the city is burning down on our side. That's what it feels like."
But many of the calls are for downed power lines.
Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins said if the fallen power line isn't on your home or an immediate threat to safety, there's not much firefighters can do to get your lights back on.
"Calling 911 will not increase your chances of getting your power on any faster," Battalion Chief Hopkins said. "It just takes resources away to have to come out, look, and say 'Yep, your power it out'". Then we put it on Evergy's list."
Firefighters said you should still call 911 if you believe a downed power line is a threat to your home or community.
High winds also make it more challenging for firefighters to do their jobs.
"Wind-driven fires, they're a scary thing to be honest," Jorge said. "We just don't have as much control and sometimes they're really hard to put out."
That's why the department installed new monitors at the stations to keep track of the weather.
"We're just a little bit more on high alert," Firefighter Augustine Contreras said. "The weather is going to be a little bit crazy [Tuesday]."
But the weather is nothing KCFD can't handle.
"Crazy calls? That's everyday," Jorge laughed.
If you see high water, turn around and do not try to drive through it.
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