East Central Reporter

Charleston Fire District responded to 291 calls in 2018 - 5.5 percent less than the previous year, according to data from the National Fire Incident Reporting System.

The calls in Charleston included 96 fires - 74 structure fires, five vehicle fires and 17 other fires. The fire department also responded to three calls for ruptures, explosions or overheating.

In all, the department saw $1,909,875 in fire loss - or about $19,895 per fire.

The department also received 192 false calls, including five malicious calls and 187 other false calls.

The calls resulted in one civilian fire-related injury.

The Charleston Firefighters Pension Fund, which has 35 active employees and 48 retired or inactive employees, was $562,977 in debt as of April 2017, according to the fund's mandated filings with the Illinois Department of Insurance. That amounts to $5,027 for every fire in 2017.

	2017	2018	Year-over-year change (%)
Building Fires	73	74	1.4
Vehicle Fires	11	5	-54.5
Other Fires	28	17	-39.3
Total Fires	112	96	-14.3
Total Calls	308	291	-5.5