February 1941, the time of arising (wake-up bell) was changed from 5:55 a.m. to 6:55 a.m. and the practice of turning the engines with a crank at 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. was discontinued.

A new Chief had not yet been appointed in the place of McCall, although it appeared the Assistant Chief P.M. "Doc" Wendel soon would be. In fact, a petition signed by most members of the department had requested it.

Then in a repeat performance of the time when Chief McCall had become Chief in 1927, a probe was to be made of the Wichita Fire Department. Rumors had spread of arguments between various factions. All one hundred and thirty-five members were called before a probe committee named by the Commission. The question to be answered was "What if anything is wrong with the department?" The investigation got underway with secret testimony being given by seventy-five members, who were called to testify with the understanding that grievances and opinions would not be made public. To the surprise of the firemen, the City Commission later voted to give copies of the testimony to the City Manager, the Mayor, and file a report with the City Clerk. As no City record can be kept secret from a taxpayer, any citizen desiring to do so could not be prevented from reading the report. It was suggested that it would take all summer to read, since it consisted of 13 volumes of legal size of written words.

In essence, the report revealed that Fire Lieutenant Rothrock had been fired for his position in the local Union #666. There had been drinking on the job, favoritism shown certain individuals, dissention, coercion, and general lack of proper administration. All of these allegations were published in the Wichita Beacon for the world to read. The reputation of the whole department was damaged and it would take many years to recover. Assistant Chief P.M. Wendel was appointed Fire Chief and Lieutenant Rothrock was reinstated. (He died of a heart attack two months later.)

In April, District Chief Ira A. Martindale, a veteran of forty-one years of service to the department was named Assistant Chief. A major fire greeted the newly appointed Chief as the Grebi Block, 201-07 N. Water was destroyed in a $100,000 fire. Later that year, Chief Wendel promoted eleven first-class men to the rank of Lieutenant. For several years there had been no promotions and many officer responsibilities were given to these men without due compensation or recognition. It was little wonder the men respected this new Chief of the department.

In August, the new Peter Pirsh 100 foot aerial was delivered and tested in Riverside Park; hundreds of citizens watched in awe as the huge 24,750 pound mechanical monster was demonstrated.

The year had started badly for the department and seemed to be destined to end the same way. In December, an audit of the Fireman's Relief Association books revealed a shortage of nearly $6,000. The Drillmaster L.E. Pantier, Secretary of the Association who was not responsible for the collection of dues, had not turned over the funds to the treasurer. Pantier, who was bonded, was forced to resign.

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