2019 Annual Report
Fire Department Maintains Record Response Levels in 2019
The year 2019 was the second busiest year on record, only behind the year before. There was less than a 1% decrease in total incidents overall, but a 4% increase in first responder medical incidents.
There were no residential dwellings lost as structure fires remained near 10% of the total volume of incidents. There were also no injuries reported to civilians or firefighters involved in structure fires. Motor vehicle accidents remained relatively the same but there was a 15% decrease in service type calls that included false alarms.
“An improvement in response time was a major factor in a successful year,” stated Captain Pat Weishaar. “With improvements to our training curriculum to meet ISO requirements, we’ve seen success in our operations on the fire ground as well as the many other incident types we respond to. We have a great group of firefighters and the results are showing.”
Other reasons for success are the special programs within the community. The code enforcement officers are diligent in their duties, inspecting over 500 business, educational, healthcare and assembly occupancies annually. Other programs that have made a noticeable impact are the 5-week, Junior Fire Marshal program, providing all local 4th grade students with fire and life safety education. Adult fire and life safety education as well as extinguisher training was also provided to local business staff and industrial employees.
“I’m very proud of the hard work and professionalism our firefighters and officers show on a daily basis,” stated Fire Chief Ted Graf. “They are passionate about what they do and passionate about the citizens and community they serve.”
For more information and a detailed list of Atchison fire and first responder statistics, the 2019 Annual Fire Report is available at the city website at: 2019 Annual Report
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