The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
CALLS KEPT FIRE, EMS WORKERS BUSY
Fires, vehicle crashes, medical incidents top call reports in 2016
Firefighters across Lorain County were busy in 2016, but they weren’t necessarily fighting fires.
Although dousing flames is the first thing to come to mind when considering a firefighter’s responsibilities, the number of fires battled by local departments fell short when compared to the other calls some departments received.
The following is a breakdown of what some of the local city departments experienced last year.
Amherst
Amherst firefighters responded to 612 calls in 2016, setting a record received in one year, according to fire Chief Greg Knoll.
Eleven structure fires caused an estimated $528,000 in damages and led to four injuries, based on the fire department’s annual report for 2016. First responder or emergency medical service calls topped the charts with 198 responses.
The second highest type of call was motor vehicle crashes, which received 103 responses.
False alarms, giving mutual aid and smoke/ odor calls round out the rest of the top five types of calls.
Avon
Avon firefighters responded to 31 building
Although dousing flames is the first thing to come to mind when considering a firefighter’s responsibilities, the number of fires battled by local departments fell short when compared to the other calls some departments received.
fires in 2016. The fire department’s annual report estimated the structure fires caused roughly $14,690 in damages.
A total of 2,736 calls were received by the fire department, and of those calls, 2,097 were rescue and emergency medical service incidents. According to the annual report, rescue and EMS calls include motor vehicle accidents with and without injuries, as well as searching for a person on land.
An analysis of the last 10 years of fire calls predicts an average increase of 3.4 percent in 2017, and a 10year analysis of EMS calls predicts a 4.7 percent increase this year.
Avon Lake
A total of 2,413 calls came into the Avon Lake Fire Department last year, according to the department’s annual report.
Fire Chief Chris Huerner said in the report that rescue and EMS were the bulk of the responses, accounting for about 66 percent of all calls received.
Firefighters responded to 48 fire-related calls and 1,602 rescue and EMS calls.
Service calls were the second highest with 296 responses.
False alarms or false calls rounded out the top three, in terms of type, with 214.
Elyria
Elyria firefighters responded to 64 building fires in 2016, and four were deemed major.
One of the major fires took place May 12 at 422 Greenwood Court and claimed the life of an elderly woman.
The estimated loss at the Greenwood Court home was listed as $121,910. The report shows the four major fires caused $296,910 in damages.
A total of 3,995 incidents received some type of response, the report said. And 2,623 of those calls were related to rescue or EMS incidents.
False alarms and false calls occurred 385 times. Firefighters also responded to 263 service calls, which includes lockouts, animal rescues and unauthorized burnings.
Lorain
Firefighters in Lorain responded to 173 structure fires last year, which resulted in one death and caused an estimated $1.3 million in property damage. The fatal fire occurred during the early morning hours of Dec. 23 in the 3900 block of Reid Avenue within the Twin Wells Mobile Allotment and claimed the life of a 9-year-old girl.
The Fire Department received 1,883 calls in 2016, according to the annual report. When it comes to non structure fires, outside rubbish, trash or waste fires topped the list at 77.
As far as rescue and EMS incidents, Lorain firefighters responded to 329 calls. Hazardous conditions, which include downed power lines, chemical spills and carbon monoxide incidents, accounted for 429 calls.
North Ridgeville
A total of 3,294 calls received a response from the North Ridgeville Fire Department in 2016, according to its annual report.
Of the calls that received a response, 473 were in reference to some type of fire and 2,818 were rescue or EMS related.
A breakdown of incidents and days of the week showed Tuesday was the busiest in 2016 with 492 incidents.
Mutual aid was given 82 times, according to the report.
Oberlin
Oberlin fire Assistant Chief Susan Hiesser said the fire department responded to 595 calls in 2016, including 219 medical rescue calls and 29 fire related incidents.
And 15 of the fire calls involved structure fires.
Hiesser explained 10 of the fires Oberlin firefighters responded to were as mutual aid, and the other five actually took place in Oberlin.
Only three of Oberlin’s structure fires caused a monetary loss, which was estimated at $17,000.
Hiesser said 2016 was a relatively good year and ended with no injuries to any firefighters or civilians.
Sheffield Lake
In 2016, Sheffield Lake firefighters responded to 888 EMS calls, 10 structure fires and 171 other calls for a total of 1,069 responses.
Firefighters received mutual aid from Sheffield Village Fire Department, Avon Lake Fire Department and Avon Fire Department and others. Sheffield Lake Fire Department provided mutual aid 52 times in 2016 and received mutual said 124 times.