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Madison City fire chief reports 2024 uptick in calls, new hires and launch of community risk-reduction roles
Summary
Fire Chief DeVries told the Madison City Council the department logged its largest cumulative training year in 2024, hired new staff, and will deploy two part‑time community risk reduction specialists May 1 to focus on smoke detectors, business inspections and reducing the city's ISO insurance rating.
Mayor and the Madison City Council heard a year‑end and early‑2025 update from Fire Chief DeVries, who reported a rise in overall incident responses, expanded training and new positions intended to reduce community risk.
DeVries said the department responded to roughly 310 incidents in 2024, including about 32 fire‑related calls and more than 70 medical calls. He told council that 2024 produced the largest cumulative training total in recent history for the department and that the city now has six new firefighter‑I certified personnel and several officers who completed a 40‑hour command officer course.
The chief said two part‑time community risk reduction specialists — the department’s new title for former fire‑prevention officers — will begin outreach work on May 1. He described their duties as going beyond smoke‑detector installation, including gathering occupancy and storage information from downtown businesses and working with property owners to lower the city’s ISO (insurance service organization) rating. “They’re ready to hit the ground on May 1,” DeVries said.
DeVries said Madison’s current ISO rating is 4 and the department’s goal is a rating of 3; he said COVID‑era delays in ISO inspections set the department back and that an improved rating could reduce insurance costs for homeowners and businesses if a new evaluation is completed.
Council members asked whether the response totals include mutual‑aid calls; DeVries said they do, noting automatic mutual aid agreements with Madison Township, Jefferson County departments and Trimble County and describing occasional dispatching delays when incidents cross state lines into Kentucky. He said the department continues to coordinate tanker and water‑rescue reciprocity with neighboring jurisdictions.
On public access and services, DeVries provided a contact route for residents seeking smoke‑detector installation or other safety services: call the fire chief’s office at 265‑8350 or use the department’s forthcoming online request form. He also said the department is working to streamline inspection and service requests through the city website.
The council thanked the chief for the report and noted the new hires, training hours and the community risk reduction positions as immediate steps to address downtown occupancy questions and fire risk.
