DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — 2022 was a record-breaking year for the Dayton Fire Department.
Cpt. Brad French, the Public Information Officer for the Dayton Fire Department, said they responded to more than 41,000 calls.
“It’s been an increase across the board in fire incidents, emergency medical incidents, rescue incidents. Just a very busy year for our folks,” Cpt. French explained.
Their second busiest year was 2017 with around 39,000 calls. While 2022 is their highest call volume in history, Cpt. French said they have not found a specific cause for the increase.
“We track our data very regularly and don’t notice any one particular pattern in any category, just an increase in usage by our citizens across the board,” Cpt. French said.
Because of this they are reminding everyone to keep safety top of mind, especially during the winter months when fire danger is higher. This means heating your home safely.
“Things like their stovetops and ovens, and things like that. Sometimes people are tempted to use those if they’re in a situation where they’re struggling with heat, and that’s very unsafe to do,” Cpt. French said.
Of course, this record year meant Dayton firefighters were constantly on the move. French said they always rise to the occasion.
“The run volume goes up and our folks just stay a little bit busier. So they a have little bit less time in the station, a little bit more time out on the street. But they always step up and we’re proud of the work that everybody does,” Cpt. French said.
To help lower the call volume, Cpt. French said they added an additional transport unit that is out on the streets 24/7 to help with less urgent calls.
