Seaford departments report rising calls, training and routine maintenance; EMS and fire activity above last year

Seaford — At the Sept. 9 meeting councilmembers summarized routine departmental activity: the fire department and EMS reported increased call volume compared with last year; the police department provided crime, traffic and training statistics; public works and wastewater staff reported ongoing maintenance and system sampling preparations.

Vice Mayor Dan Henderson summarized fire department metrics: year-to-date calls totaled 4,058, an average of 16.1 calls per day and roughly a 13% increase over last year. The department reported in-service training sessions on ropes and knots, grip hoist and tie-backs and EMT refresher classes scheduled for November. Rescue apparatus and a marine unit were noted temporarily out of service for repairs.

Chief Craft and council liaison reported police data covering recent weeks: 177 overall offenses for the period, an 87% clearance rate, three drug-related arrests, 199 traffic contacts yielding 126 citations and 33 warnings, and 34 crashes (three injury). The department said officer training, promotional interviews and a citizens police academy are ongoing.

Public works reported water service installations, catch-basin cleaning, meter work and other routine maintenance. The wastewater treatment facility reported improved compost plant performance with cooler weather, dewatering improvements, completed roof fan work and preparations for priority pollutant (PPC) and whole effluent toxicity (WET) sampling.

The liaison reports were informational; no formal council action was taken on these updates.