The Fremont Fire Department has seen increased numbers of calls. In 1969 when the department began having three, nine-person shifts of paid firefighters, it responded to 609 fire and medical calls. The department still has three, nine-person shifts of firefighters. But in 2016, the department’s annual report said it handled 2,463 medical and fire calls. That number is said to have climbed to 2,742. Fremont Fire Chief Todd Bernt said the aging population drives the EMS calls. The average EMS patient’s age has risen from 51 to 57. Other area fire chiefs have seen the numbers of calls grow, too.