COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Coldwater Fire Chief Dave Schmaltz says in his annual report that will be presented to the City Council on Monday night that the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on everyone during 2021.
He says emergency services throughout the country have struggled to keep up, but no industry like EMS has suffered more. According to Schmaltz, the lack of staffing has caused significant delays in getting an ambulance to the scene which has played out locally and has forced his department to make hard decisions on the scene.
He credited his staff with going above and beyond what is expected of them, just to provide the highest level of care to those they have sworn to serve.
In 2021, the department responded to a record 1,480 calls for service, which is an increase of 11 percent from 2020.
Schmaltz says fire responses have continued to rise steadily over the last five years. 2021 saw an increase of 20 percent in total fire responses from the previous year and a staggering increase of 61 percent from 2017.
Structure, cooking and chimney fires have also jumped by 16 percent from 2020.
Schmaltz adds the department experienced an eight percent increase in EMS calls from the previous year.
In consultation with the Branch County Medical Control Authority, Schmaltz said it was decided in 2020 to not respond to facilities that had medical care on site such as nursing homes unless requested by Lifecare Ambulance. “We have continued with this policy and have seen no significant impact in service delivery.”
There were eight fire related injuries in 2021 with two being firefighters. There were no civilian casualties in 2021.
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