The Salem Fire Protection District responded to 384 fire and rescue alarms last year, up 60 from the prior year.
The department responded to a total of 42 structure fires, either within the Salem Fire Protection District or in providing automatic or mutual aid to neighboring/regional fire districts and departments. Additionally, the Fire District responded to 21 trash fires and 7 cooking fires. Highway rescues accounted for 73 calls which are up from the past two years. Highway rescues are commonly referred to as vehicle extrications and/or motor vehicle accident assists.
The Fire District mitigated 17 Hazardous Condition incidents which included gasoline spills, gas leaks, chemical spills, or downed power lines
The fire district responded to 20 vehicles fires in 2025, including highway, off-road vehicles, and watercraft. 48 natural cover or grass fires during 2025. That’s more than double the total from 2024.
Fire Loss
Estimated losses due to fire within the Fire District for the year 2025 amounted to $925,150.00. The total property saved by the Fire District amounted to $16,547,000.00, equating to a 94.4% save rate. Vehicle fires attributed to a $289,000.00 loss, this includes off-road, highway vehicles, watercraft, and farm equipment. The dollar value of the equipment lost contributed to over 31.2% of the total fire losses in 2025.
Call Total Trends
The aggregate number of Salem Fire Protection District’s responses in 2025 increased 25% over the past 5-year average. One of the largest increases in calls came from natural cover fires which increased 140% over 2024 and over the 5-year average .
The District employees consist of four Career Engineer/Firefighters who man the station in Salem 24 hours a day / seven days a week. 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 their personal expenses incurred from being members of this vital community service.
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 2025, Salem Fire Protection District firefighters participated in 3774 certified training hours. That is an average of 112 hours per man with many of the Firefighters significantly exceeding that number.
