The Prince George Fire Rescue Service responded to 18.7 per cent more calls in the first quarter of 2023 than in the first quarter of 2022, according to the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George board of directors on Thursday.
Between Jan. 1 and March 31, the fire department responded to 2,546 calls for service (1,657 medical, 604 fires, 159 rescues and 126 administrative), up from 2,145 calls (1,362 medical, 531 fires, 123 rescues and 129 administrative) in the same period last year. That translates to a 20.4 per cent increase in medical calls, 13.7 per cent increase in fires, 29.3 per cent increase in rescue calls and 2.3 per cent decrease in administrative calls compared to the first quarter of 2022.
The department responded to 935 calls in March alone (609 medical, 235 fires, 49 rescues and 42 administrative), a 36.5 per cent increase over the 685 calls (400 medical, 208 fires, 34 rescues and 43 administrative) the department responded to in 2022.
The Prince George Fire Rescue Service responded to a record 9,880 calls in 2022 and 8,087 calls in 2021, but is on pace to exceed more than 10,000 calls in 2023. By comparison, the department responded to an average 6,200 calls per year between 2015 and 2019.
