By: Shannon Bachar
PEORIA — Despite an increase in emergency calls, Peoria residents can rest assured, as the Peoria Fire Department upholds its standards.
When comparing the years 2012 and 2013, there has been an overall increase in fire department budgets and an increase in alarms and calls, according to statistics from the City of Peoria 2013 Annual Budget. The increase in budget has helped the department to better serve the community in regards to the increase in calls.
Division Chief of Operations Edward Olehy Jr., said that the department does not base their production on the number of calls that they respond to, but rather base their standards as to how long it takes them to respond to each call.
“The goals that we have set are based on response times,” Olehy said. “It is our desire to reach every citizen in the city within six minutes. Currently we are close to maintaining this goal. There are a couple areas of the city that push this time limit, and we are watching them closely. We are constantly checking our run numbers and evaluating our positions around the city.”
As shown in the graph above, the fire facts of 2013 show that the majority of responses for 2013 were to rescue and emergency calls.
Funding for the department, which includes personnel services, employee benefits, operation, training, pension, healthcare and many other funds, has increased 40 percent within the year.
Olehy said the increase in funding is not only important to be more successful, but essential for them to maintain status quo. Also, that the department covers many disciplines besides fighting fires, as firemen are fully trained EMT’s and paramedics that are trained in high angle rescue, hazardous material emergencies and divers that dive in any condition.
“All of these areas take special equipment and hours of training,” he said. “We also have multiple pieces of equipment that are extremely expensive to repair from just normal everyday use. You take all of these things and add in the cost increases of all products, and see that funding increases are a must for success.”
Not only was there an increase in funding, but a 71 percent increase in response to calls as well, which vary from fire calls, EMS calls, hazardous material responses, rescue calls and other calls. All types of calls showed to have an increase.
Olehy said that it is the mission of the department to bring the best emergency care to all citizens of Peoria in the best way that they can.
“As I’ve said before, the Peoria Fire Department covers a variety of disciplines when it comes to emergency services,” he said. “In just this past year, we have added paramedic engine companies to different areas of the city. This is in an effort to bring higher medical care in areas of high demand.”
According to Olehy, the department continues to train daily on the different disciplines so the members can be at the top of their game when called upon.
“The department is always looking at ways to lower the response times to better serve the city,” he said. “It is our desire in the future to continue to advance our knowledge in the fire service and to continue to deliver top quality emergency services to the citizens of Peoria.”