Journal & Topics Media Group

Mt. Prospect Fire Dept. Received More Calls In 2019 Than Ever Before


Mount Prospect police and fire department headquarters at Northwest Highway and Maple Street. (Journal photo)

The Mount Prospect Fire Department has noticed a 5% increase in the number of calls the department receives every year. This trend made 2019 a record-breaking year with the highest number of calls the department received in the village’s recorded history.

In 2018, the Mount Prospect Fire Department responded to 6,079 calls; it was the first time the department received more than 6,000 in recorded history. In 2019, the department responded to 6,453 calls for an ambulance request, active fire, smoke, false alarms, amongst other things.

The majority of the calls in 2019 were for emergency medical services (EMS) requests, totaling 4,617 calls. The number of EMS requests in 2019 showed a 10.22% increase from 2018, which had 4,189 calls.

Fire Chief Brian Lambel told the Journal that even though the department has seen a historical 5% increase each year for the last several years, the increase has been spread out through the entire village, meaning there hasn’t been a specific area of the increases.

Mount Prospect Fire Chief Brian Lambel reminds residents to take extra precaution when heating and cooking in their homes during the winter. (Photo via Mount Prospect website)

Along with the increase in EMS calls, the department has seen a very small increase responding to active structure fires. In 2018, the department responded to 84 structure fires but in 2019, there were 90 calls.

The department estimated that approximately $792,170 worth of property was damaged in 2018 due to fires and there was $401,350 worth of property damage. Property can be buildings, vehicles, dumpsters and other material items people own.

Despite those increases, the department has seen decreases, too. In 2018, the department responded to 22 cooking fires but in 2019, the department only responded to 16.

Ways to prevent fire in your home include: never leaving items such as plastics, cardboard, paper, amongst other flammable materials in an oven; making sure your smoke alarms on every level of the house are in working condition and that they’re less than 10-years-old; and to always take precaution when heating your home.

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