The year 2014 was one of a record number of calls for the City of California Fire Department.
The 503 calls average nearly 10 a week, or more than one each day. The year's calls break out as 53 fire related, 28 rescue response, 391 medical and 26 miscellaneous.
According to California Fire Chief Allen Smith, the 53 fire related calls included five actual structure fires.
The medical calls were so numerous at 391 because the fire department is paged along with calls to Mid-Mo Ambulance in the city and also mutual aid for motor vehicle collisions outside the city with the California Rural Fire Protection District.
The miscellaneous calls include calls cancelled while the trucks are en route, investigations and weather spotter calls.
Smith said December is usually a heavy month for calls. The year 2014 was no exception, with 53 calls - more than 10 percent - in December. The higher December call volume is because of the weather, more fires and a greater number of illnesses, such as flu.
Several upgrades, for both safety and efficiency have been completed. New colored fire hoses have been purchased and put into service. These hoses are color-coded with the valves on the trucks, making it faster and more efficient to open and shut off water from the various hoses.
One firefighter commented that when a nozzle needed to be shut off, all that is now necessary is to look at the color. Before the new hoses were put into service, a tangle of hoses had to be followed from nozzle to connector. All of the SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus) cylinders are upgraded. All the cylinders are now carbon-fiber which are lighter.
The department personnel are looking forward to additional upgrades and improvements depending on the budget for the coming year.