Saint John fire crews have responded to more than 1,880 calls so far this year — about six per day on average.
Members of the city’s new public safety committee got their first look at this year’s fire statistics on Wednesday.
The figures, which includes all calls up to and including Oct. 21, were broken down into several categories.
Coun. Gary Sullivan said data like this is something the committee and council can really sink their teeth into.
“Being a numbers guy, this is the first time I can remember, in simple form, that breakdown of the data,” Sullivan said.
About one-quarter of those calls, or 419 of them, were medical-related, but officials said that is much lower than usual.
That is because the fire service adjusted the criteria that would trigger a medical assist call in response to COVID-19 concerns.
“Our current response balances responder safety while ensuring we are dispatched to medical emergencies where our training, skills and equipment can make a difference,” said a staff report.
A total of 324 calls — nearly one-in-six — were fire-specific, including structure fires, cooking fires, chimney fires, appliance fires, vehicle fires, grass fires, refuses fires.
The department has also responded to 284 motor vehicle collisions, including 12 which involved having to extricate a victim, and 68 HAZMAT calls.
Nearly one in five calls, or about 373, involved alarm system malfunctions or unintentional alarms.
City Manager John Collin said while the data is “interesting enough,” they have an obligation to turn that information into intelligence.
“What we need to do is take that data, take that information, and put it against our performance management measures that we are now developing, and then we can get into the useful discussions about are the resources right, do we need to change priorities, et cetera,” said Collin.
Fire Chief Kevin Clifford said while alarm activations used to be a full response — four trucks and a command officer — they now only send two trucks as 99.9 per cent of the calls do not require a full response.
That change, combined with a reduction in the number of medical calls they are going to, means a “substantial drop” in fleet expenditures, he said.
Officials hope to provide data on fire, police, and other safety calls to committee members on a quarterly basis.