The Salem Fire Protection District handled 324 fire and rescue alarms in 2024. The number is up 30 calls from the prior year. There was one civilian fire death.
The annual Fire Chief’s Report shows $919,350 in fire damage, with property saved totalling $4,833,250 equating to an 80.98 percent save rate.
The fire district responded to 19 vehicle fires, including both highway, off-road and farm equipment. Those fires resulted in over 34.5 percent of the fire loss.
The department responded to a total of 48 structure fires, either within the Salem Fire Protection District or in providing automatic or mutual aid to neighboring/regional fire districts and departments. This number is up approximately 25% over the past 5-year average. Additionally, the Fire District responded to 6 trash fires and 4 cooking fires. Highway rescues accounted for 30 calls which is down from the past two years. Highway rescues are commonly referred to as vehicle extrications and/or motor vehicle accident assists.
The Fire District mitigated 54 Hazardous Condition incidents which included gasoline spills, gas leaks, chemical spills, or downed power lines.
The Fire District extinguished 20 natural cover or grass fires during 2024.
The aggregate number of Salem Fire Protection District responses last year increased 27-percent over the past five-year average.
All 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 skillset necessary to perform the fire/rescue tasks at the highest level. During 2024, Salem Fire Protection District firefighters participated in 4747 certified training hours. That is an average of 132 hours per man with many of the Firefighters significantly exceeding that number.
