The Ralston Volunteer Fire Department had a busy year in 2018, according to its annual report. Fire Chief Kevin Eischeid said what stood out about the past year was that the number of members who responded to calls during the year increased by 16 percent. He said that showed the dedication, training and willingness of the volunteers to put in the time and be away from families since many of the training sessions they attended were outside the Omaha metro area. Firefighters attended training sessions as far away as Florida and Tennessee, Eischeid said. “That’s something I would like to keep going in the future is the exposure they get,” he said.