MUSCATINE, Iowa – The Muscatine Fire Department had their second busiest year of the last 10 years in 2023, responding to 5,773 calls for service during the year, or about 15.8 calls per day. That is just short of the record number of calls for service in 2022 (5,909) and just above the third highest yearly total responded to in 2021 (5,709).
“We train constantly on attacking a variety of fires, responding to medical emergencies, ambulance transports, motor vehicle accidents, hazardous material incidents, and specialty rescues on land and water,” Jerry Ewers, Muscatine Fire Chief, said. “The knowledge, skills, abilities, and professionalism of our members is demonstrated on a daily basis on service calls and when out in the community.”
Records were set for monthly run volume in five of the 12 months in 2023 including January (482), March (502), April (494), August (515), and October (537). Monday proved to be the busiest day of the week for firefighters and EMS personnel with 872 runs with Tuesday a close second at 851 runs during the calendar year.
Some highlights from the annual report:
- The number of fire related calls in 2023 was down slightly (692 calls in 2023 compared to 816 in 2022) with structure fire (44) and cooking fires (12) making up the bulk of the responses.
- Training remains a top priority for the department with over 11,000 hours dedicated to ensure staff is ready to respond to any emergency.
- Cot scales and software was purchased to accurately identify a patient’s weight, which means more accurate dosage of medication for critical care patients.
- White the department spends a large amount of time training staff, the department also is involved in educating the public through Community Risk Reduction efforts and community outreach training (Stop the Bleed, CPR, etc.).
Be sure to view or download a PDF version of the report to learn more about the Muscatine Fire Department in 2023. Click on 2023 MFD Report to view or download the report.