After a decade of stable call loads, Fairbanks Fire Department saw a jump of about 600 emergency medical service calls in each of the last two years. In 2017, there were more than 4,400 calls, and the upward trend in EMS calls isn’t slowing down: It could top 5,000 this year.
The numbers were part of a presentation Fairbanks Chief of Staff Mike Meeks and FFD Chief Jim Styers gave at the Fairbanks City Council meeting Monday night. The increase in calls negatively coincides with a decrease in low-level mutual aid provided by three fire-service areas outside the city.
Responding to the decrease in mutual aid, the city will begin “stacking” low-level calls for 20 minutes when personnel are unavailable, then reassessing their ability to respond.