East Central Reporter

Charleston Fire Department responded to 308 calls in 2017 - 2.2 percent less than the previous year, according to data from the National Fire Incident Reporting System.

The calls in Charleston included 112 fires - 73 structure fires, 11 vehicle fires and 28 other fires. The fire department also responded to five calls for ruptures, explosions or overheating.

In all, the department saw $220,490 in fire loss - or about $1,969 per fire.

The department also received 191 false calls, including 14 malicious calls and 177 other false calls.

The calls resulted in two civilian fire-related injuries.

The Charleston Firefighters Pension Fund, which has 35 active employees and 51 retired or inactive employees, was $1,790,300 in debt as of April 2016, according to the fund's mandated filings with the Illinois Department of Insurance. That amounts to $19,460 for every fire in 2016.

	2016	2017	Year-over-year change (%)
Structure Fires	59	73	23.7
Vehicle Fires	7	11	57.1
Other fires	26	28	7.7
Total Fires	92	112	21.7
Total Calls	315	308	-2.2