Mitchell Kaminski
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
After months of workouts and practices, the Mizzou football team is set to take the field for the first time Thursday as the 2026 season kicks off at Faurot Field.
But much like the players on the field, the preparation to keep fans safe on game day starts months earlier — and in some cases, almost immediately after the previous season ends.
“As soon as we’re done with the last game, we’re already planning as as soon as we get an idea of when the first game is going to be played,” Columbia Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer told ABC 17 News. “We’re already putting together our work groups to address what happened in the season prior and make improvements to the plan moving into the season coming up, and then we’ll exercise throughout that time.”
That planning is especially important this season, with Memorial Stadium’s capacity increasing to approximately 65,000 following the completion of the new north end zone project.
Season tickets have already sold out for the No. 25-ranked Tigers, while single-game tickets for matchups against Florida and Texas have also sold out. Before the recent renovations, Memorial Stadium held approximately 61,620 fans.
Regardless of the stadium capacity, for the Columbia Fire Department, game-day planning is a year-round process.
“The involvement starts a year prior to the season. So we’re constantly evaluating how the last season went, what we learned from the events that we had, any close calls or any challenges that we had. We learn from those, and then we build some resilience in based on what we learned from the previous year,” Schaeffer said.
Those lessons can be especially important when weather creates additional challenges for emergency crews.
“Lots of lots of lessons learned, especially when we have inclement weather. So weather is such a determinant on our volume,” Schaeffer said. “We see a lot of heat exhaustion, alcohol challenges from that, plus the heat, as well as people that may be vulnerable. That may be of an age that the heat can be overwhelming for them. So we’ll see a surge, and sometimes that surge creates a very big impact to the system.”
Thursday’s season opener is expected to bring hot conditions, with temperatures expected to be in the mid-90s leading up to kickoff, making heat-related emergencies one of the issues crews are preparing to handle.
Emergency crews have also incorporated technology into their response plans. Schaeffer said the department has leaned on a software program called Pulsara, which allows crews to collect demographic and clinical information wherever a patient is being treated, including in the stands. That information can then be shared with the crew transporting the patient and the emergency department receiving them.
“Any time we have an event, especially in this case, a football game, we’re treating it as its own incident. The concept is to be ahead of the curve so that we’re better prepared to meet the challenges of whatever the weather brings us or if we have an active assailant or if we have a crash or a fire or something significant, and that we’re going to be able to handle or without without really draining the down the entire system because the heart attacks and the structure fires and the car wrecks all continue to happen on game day and in our larger system,” Schaeffer said.
That means emergency crews have to prepare for incidents inside and outside the stadium while still maintaining coverage across the rest of Columbia.
The Columbia Fire Department will be in unified command this season alongside the Missouri State Highway Patrol, SEC officials, MU facilities staff, MUPD and emergency management officials. The group is prepared to respond to a range of incidents, including medical emergencies, fires, hazardous materials incidents and active assailant situations.
Schaeffer said resources are deployed based on the type of incident and the location of the nearest available crews. But that deployment requires careful coordination so the city is not left without adequate emergency coverage if another call comes in elsewhere.
“That footprint on game day is pretty significant. So there has to be coordination between the deployment system that’s covering the rest of the city and the city that we build right at Faurot Field,” Schaeffer said.
On game days, CFD sends an assistant chief to the unified command post with its public safety partners, while the larger emergency operations structure at the county level remains ready to coordinate additional resources.
At Boone County’s Emergency Operations Center, Director Chris Kelly said the county’s role is focused on situational awareness, coordination, and providing resources when needed.
On game days, Boone County activates the County Emergency Operations Center and embeds an emergency management staff member at MUPD’s secondary command post. That staff member serves as a direct link between the command post and the county EOC, relaying information and resource needs and assisting with coordination.
Kelly described the operation as a partnership, with MUPD leading public safety operations associated with the game and campus while emergency management provides additional coordination and support from the countywide perspective.
Kennedy said the county’s Emergency Operations Center is used for a variety of major events, not just football games.
“During game days, it is us in our office. So all of the specialists, our director, our deputy director, anyone in our office that’s involved, and we will have two people staffed here and one person staffed over at MPD on campus. So three total, and the one on campus usually acts as almost as a liaison for us back here in the office,” Boone County Office of Emergency Management spokesperson Beth Kennedy told ABC 17 News.
The emergency operations center can also be activated for severe weather, large gatherings such as protests, or when another agency in the county requests assistance.
While the county is prepared to provide additional resources, Kennedy said MUPD remains the lead agency for public safety on campus.
“MUPD leads in terms of public safety on campus. So if they see a scenario where they need our help, we can get those resources to them. But they are the lead on everything. We are just helping them in assisting them should something come up,” Kennedy said.
For Boone County Emergency Management, planning begins once the official football schedule is released. About two months before the season, staff begins scheduling personnel for each home game.
Staff start arriving approximately two hours before kickoff. The plans are detailed down to individual assignments, with every staff member working the shift expected to know their role.
Fire crews are also preparing for potential hazards in the parking lots surrounding the stadium.
“One RV fire in any of the parking lots that is not suppressed initially can easily spread to nearby RVs. We’ve seen that happen in other venues, especially with liquid propane and tents and easily flammable material in a little wind. It could really turn into a significant incident. That is a reality that we have to plan for, and we’ve got those plans all in place,” Schaeffer told ABC 17 News.
Hazardous materials are another part of the preparation that can be easy for fans to overlook.
“We’re constantly using our hazmat team’s equipment to analyze the air, to make sure that the air is safe for everybody that’s there and their stations that are spread throughout the arena,” Schaeffer said. “That’s something that we train on pretty frequently with the hazardous materials team, whether it’s a chlorine leak or an actual event like in Boonville this year.”
Despite the changes to Memorial Stadium’s layout with the completion of the north end zone project, Schaeffer said there was little need to change the department’s overall game-day procedures.
Several weeks ago, Columbia Fire Department officials toured the completed project to review emergency access points, test communication systems, and assess safety systems in the new north end zone.
There is one notable change, however.
Schaeffer said the tradition of having Truman the Tiger ride onto the field on a Boone County firetruck is ending because the larger vehicle has become more difficult to maneuver inside the stadium following the renovations.
For Boone County Emergency Management, the changes to the stadium do not change the agency’s overall approach to game-day safety.
“We’re just going to continue to approach any scenario, any situation, regardless of the size of the stadium, regardless of how many people come to these games, the time of day that these games are, we’re just going to approach this as we are here, as that resource, that safety resource for MUPD for the City of Columbia, and we’ll have that staff ready should anything happen,” Kennedy said.
And with thousands of fans expected inside and around Faurot Field on Thursday, Kennedy said fans have a role to play in keeping themselves and those around them safe.
“Situational awareness is huge. Keep an eye on your surroundings when it’s hot, Thursday is going to be a hot game,” Kennedy said. Stay hydrated, make sure everybody’s eating throughout the day and wear your sunscreen so you don’t get super sunburned. You just want to make sure that you are aware and you are responsible for yourself.”
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AN EXTREME HEAT WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED AS CONFIDENCE IS STILL HIGH THAT 105 DEGREE HEAT INDEXES OR GREATER COULD BE OBSERVED FOR SOME SUNDAY
