DFD responds to record number of calls, with fewer firefighters

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — The Decatur Fire Department responded to a record-breaking 13,108 calls in 2022.

"That averages out to about 1 call every 40 minutes day and night, all year long. And that increasing workload is being distributed among less and less fireman," Jeremy Ruderman, Public Information Officer for Local 505 told WAND News.

Ten years ago, there were about 121 firefighters serving the city. Today they're down to 105.

"It ends up resulting in more alarms being answered by the guys on shift every day," Decatur Fire Chief Jeff Abbott told WAND News.

In recent years, the call volume has only gone up.

"When I came on there were about 5,000 calls and as you saw- last year there were 13,000 calls. So the call volume is a lot higher and there are less resources to send to those calls," Chief Abbott explained.

EMS calls made up about three-quarters of all alarms in 2022.

"I think people have the misconception that if they call 911 and they show up at the hospital in an ambulance, they're going to be seen first in the ER— but that's not the case," Chief Abbott said.

The chief is working with the 911 dispatch center on a system to triage medical calls, with the goal of only having firefighters respond to the most serious incidents.

"I don't think every call requires an ambulance, a fire truck and a police car. So if we can do a better job filtering out what is truly an emergency, and send the appropriate resources to the appropriate call, then I think that will help," Chief Abbott said.

The fire union, Local 505, is also calling for more prevention efforts, which used to be done by city fire inspectors.

"They have not employed those positions for the last three years. The roles those positions filled were fire prevention, fire education and community outreach. And without those three positions we're unable to perform those duties," Ruderman explained.

The fire department union is currently in negotiations with the city over its contract. The union is now in its third year of working without a contract.