The amount of damage caused by fires totaled $2.7 million, the fourth highest since 2006. Dirksen said that was mostly because of a few fires that caused a lot of damage, such as one that heavily damaged the Bison Turf bar and ones that damaged 23 single-family homes.The vast majority of calls the department received, however, were for medical emergencies; only a small percentage were for fires, he said, citing the department's annual report.
Reports since 2006 show that the number of medical calls have been rising much faster than population growth, while the number of fire calls have changed little.