The deputy fire chief of the Shawnee Fire Department was given a hero’s farewell after almost three decades working for the city.
On Monday at Shawnee Town 1929, Deputy Fire Chief Corey Sands was honored by his colleagues and city staff for 29 years of service with the Shawnee Fire Department.
Officials that honored him included Mayor Mickey Sandifer, Shawnee Fire Chief Rick Potter, retired Shawnee Fire Chief John Maddox and Shawnee City Manager Paul Kramer, among others.
Starting out as a volunteer firefighter in 1997, Sands is a decorated firefighter who wore many hats through the years, including fire prevention officer in 2002, fire marshal in 2012 and deputy chief of strategic services in 2020.
Each speaker honored Sands’ professionalism and care that he brought to every case and incident he took on.
“His intellect, his professionalism is unmatched,” Kramer said. “He has all the answers. He’s always professional, and he is a heck of a people person … So I want to thank him for the way that he represented the city, which reflects on the city as a whole, on my office, on the city council, and so I’m in debt to Corey for what he brought to this role as fire marshal.”
Sands started out as a volunteer with the fire department
When was a senior in high school, Sands said he was working on then-Shawnee Fire Chief Buck Hartley’s car when it was suggested he become a firefighter.
“He laid out all the college courses I need to take, and so, when I graduated, that’s what I did,” Sands said.
The opportunity to help others and solve problems appealed to Sands, enough that after becoming a volunteer, he wanted to make it his life’s work.
“It’s service above yourself. So when the community calls, we respond, and hopefully we’re that light at the darkest time of their life, and just a little support (to) be able to help save some items that they may have in a home, or just be there for them,” he said.
Throughout his career, he earned a number of honors and wore many hats, including;
- President of the Kansas City Chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators
- President of the Eastern Kansas Multi-County Task Force
- Chair/Co-chair of the Johnson County Fire and Burn Committee
- One of the first fire marshals to receive the fire marshal designation from the Center for Public Safety Excellence
His work was documented in many Johnson County Post articles, including handling the aftermath of a near-fatal “mayday” call for local firefighters in 2022, an investigation where a fire killed an infant and a rescue call in 2021 where a Shawnee man was pinned against a branch while he was trimming trees, among many other stories.
While he’s proud of those accomplishments and the co-workers he met through the years, it was helping the community in the worst times that stick out in his mind.
“I‘ve sat on the curb with a lot of our residents after fires and try to learn from those fires, and then we work to try to prevent those fires again in the future,” he said.
Mentors, colleagues honored Sands
Working with Sands when he was still coming up about 25 years, Maddox said he was instantly drawn to his commitment to his job.
“Corey took his job very seriously. He was always prepared, and he did his homework. When it came to anything new or out of the ordinary, he was who I could turn to,” he said.
Since being sworn in as the fire chief with the Shawnee Fire Department in 2020, Potter said he has enjoyed Sands’ institutional knowledge and assistance when he arrived and how he improved the department through the years.
“The level of professionalism he’s brought to the department … from investigations, from fire prevention, the work that is done, I have not met someone with his ability and his drive, and it is just truly exemplary,” he said.
Sands looks forward to retirement
In his time as part of the Shawnee Fire Department, Sands acknowledged that he missed holidays and days and nights out with his family.
While he’s unsure what retirement means for him just yet, he said he looks forward to reclaiming the missed time with his family.
“I’m going to love it. I’m going to love it. But I think there’s always going to be a part of me wondering ‘Where’s the truck going? What call is there? Do they need help? Did we inspect this building? Is it safe?’ That will be with me forever,” he said.
