The number of service calls to the Burlington Fire Department has been on the rise for more than two decades.
Between 1997 and 2018, annual calls to the BFD doubled from just more than 2,500 to nearly 5,400.
“A lot of that is due to the aging population,” said Burlington Fire Chief Matt Trexel.
There were 187 more calls in 2018 than in 2017. Trexel said responding to those calls would not be possible if not for members of the department.
“Nothing contained in the report would be possible without the dedication and professionalism of members of the department,” Trexel said Monday while presenting his annual report to the Burlington City Council.
Trexel traditionally delivers the report at the beginning of each calendar year to talk about the previous year, but this year he decided to give a fiscal year presentation instead.