The Salem Fire Protection District reported $714,700 in fire damage and more than $ 3.8 million in property saved during 2023.
The fire chief’s annual report shows the department responded to a total of 294 fire and rescue alarms, one more than in 2022.
In 2023, Salem responded to 42 structure fires, within the Fire District and either through automatic or mutual aid to neighboring fire districts and departments. This number is about average for the past 5 years. In addition, the Fire District answered the alarm for 6 trash fires, and 1 cooking fire. Highway rescues accounted for 55 calls which is consistent with a trend over the last couple of years. Highway rescues are commonly referred to as vehicle extrications and motor vehicle accident assist.
The Fire District handled 20 Hazardous Condition calls which included gasoline spills, gas leaks, chemical spills, or downed power lines. There were 18 vehicle fires in 2023, which included both highway and off-road vehicles. The department responded to 23 natural cover or grass fires.
The Fire District personnel assisted in securing the area affected by the tornado that traveled through the southern part of Salem this spring.
Fire Loss
The $714,700 fire loss for 2023 is derived from the 18 different reported categories involving fire. The total property saved amounted to $3,754,650.00, which equates to a 84.01% save rate. There was a large increase in the number of vehicle fires which includes off-road and farm equipment. The value of the equipment lost amounted to over 28.2% of the total fire losses in 2023. There were three civilian fire injuries during 2023.
Call Total Trends
The aggregate number of Salem Fire Protection District’s responses has about a 27% increase over the 5-year average.
Here’s a breakdown of the 2023 calls:
Training Program
All volunteer firefighters from the Salem Fire Protection District are mandated to participate in scheduled weekly training, as well as frequent weekend training exercises. This time is spent in both classroom and hands-on training to create and maintain the skill set necessary to perform the fire/rescue tasks at the highest level. During 2023, Salem Fire Protection District firefighters participated in 4873 certified training hours. That is an average of 132 hours per man with many of the Firefighters significantly exceeding that number.
Department Demographics
The Salem Fire Protection, an ISO Class 3 District, encompasses approximately 124 square miles. The District is classified as a combination district, which simply means the District is manned by a combination of both career and paid-on-call firefighters working as a cohesive team to protect the lives and property of the residents of the Fire District.
The Salem Fire Protection District’s response to alarms in the District is somewhat unique to the area. The District employees consist of four Career Engineer/Firefighters who man the station in Salem 24 hours a day / seven days a week. They are responsible for responding the first due apparatus to all calls. Additionally, firefighters from the roster of “paid-on-call” firefighters respond directly to the incident scene from their homes, places of employment, or other activities. This type of response saves precious response time in many cases by eliminating the requirement of the paid-on-call firefighters to respond first to the station and then to the fire scene.
As the title suggests, “paid-on-call” firefighters receive an hourly wage while engaged in fire district calls with that pay assisting in off-setting personal expenses incurred from being members of this vital community service.
