Yakima firefighters responded to an increased number of calls in 2015.
"Our guys are out there all the time, constantly responding to take care of you," Yakima Fire Department Spokesperson Capt. Jeff Pfaff said.
Last year, Yakima firefighters responded to nearly 9,000 service calls. That's 1,300 more than in 2014, and around 750 more than in 2013.
"We had a summer that had a lot of fires, of course the numbers would go up, and the medical increase has made a drastic jump too," Capt. Pfaff said.
The majority of calls, around 5,000, are for medical emergencies.
But firefighters are responding to fewer medical calls than years past.
When firefighters responded to a record-number of 11,000 calls a few years ago, emergency response teams restructured dispatch protocol. Firefighters no longer respond to less-serious medical calls.
"That volume is still there, we're just not responding to some of the lower risk incidents," Capt. Pfaff said.
Firefighters say the main reason for the increase is because of expanded boundaries.
Last year, Yakima entered into a contract with Union Gap for fire services.
Union Gap pays Yakima $1.2 million a year for the service.
2015 also resulted in an excess of overtime for the fire department.
The overtime budget was maxed out by September.
"If we didn't hire these guys back we'd have engines sitting idle in the station with nobody on them, and that's not our role, our role is to take care of the public."