MUSCATINE, Iowa — It was a record-setting year for the Muscatine Fire Department, but not in records that they want to see broken.
In a press release published on Tuesday, Jan. 31, Muscatine fire officials revealed that the department saw a record 5,909 calls for service in 2022 — exactly 200 more calls than the previous record from 2021.
According to the department, service calls have been on a steady increase in the last decade, increasing by 47%. The amount of calls has topped 5,000 in each of the last six years:
- 5,100 in 2017
- 5,027 in 2018
- 5,238 in 2019
- 5,034 in 2020
- 5,709 in 2021
Medical incidents made up the overwhelming majority of service calls in 2022 at 86.2% of the total, which is a decrease from 91% in 2021 and 92% in 2020.
The department responded to a total of 817 fires in 2022, a 37% increase from 521 fire calls in 2021.
In five of 2022's 12 months, the department responded to over 500 calls — 591 in December, 537 in November, 523 in July, 519 in June, and 504 in May.
The department also shared a set of fast facts breaking down a few extra data points:
- Every fire call category was up in 2022, including the most building fires in the last 10 years.
- The top five fire responses in 2022 were structure fires (51), vehicle fires (15), vegetation fires (15), trash fires (11) and cooking fires (7).
- Training continues to be a main ingredient for the life of a Muscatine firefighter with the department conducting 11,586 hours of training in 2022.
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