It was a busy year for the St. Joseph Fire Department in 2024

According to its annual report, the St. Joseph Fire Department responded to 16,061 calls in 2024.

These calls included fire emergencies, medical calls, and fire safety inspections. This is a faint decrease from 2023 when the fire department responded to 16,082 calls for service.

While the St. Joseph Fire Department saw a slight decrease in response calls last year, it stayed busy responding to emergencies.

“Our largest type of call is emergency medical services. We ran 11,012 calls last year for just EMS,” said Jamey McVicker, assistant fire chief at the St. Joseph Fire Department.

The St. Joseph fire department noted a significant increase in this area, only responding to 9,000 EMS calls in 2023, but firefighters are ensuring they stay trained for this element.

“One of the requirements to be a firefighter now is to be an EMT in Missouri,” McVicker said. “So, we have our firefighters well equipped, and they are knowledgeable enough to perform almost any needed emergency service.”

Structure fires also increased throughout the city last year, with fire crews responding to more than 180 compared to 167 in 2023. According to officials, this is commonly caused by electrical issues and cooking accidents.

Winter will soon be over, but residents are being reminded to practice safety while keeping warm to help reduce fires.

“With the colder weather, we always recommend checking your heat sources, whether you have a forced air heat or even alternative heat sources,” McVicker said. The biggest thing we recommend is always making sure it's away from anything combustible.”

SJFD hopes the numbers will continue to go down in 2025.