Geneva Fire Chief: Call Volume Rose to 752; Estimated Losses $795,000, Property Saved Nearly $6.7 Million

Fire Chief David Shook told the City of Geneva Council on April 28 that the fire department handled 752 calls in the past year, including 58 he categorized as fire-related. "This call volume went up, actually, pretty markedly," Shook said, adding that the department's estimate of property loss totaled about $575,000 and estimated personal-property loss about $220,000.

Shook said the department also estimated nearly $6,700,000 in property saved through response and suppression efforts. He described three major weather events during the year—a Thanksgiving snowstorm and two rain-and-wind storms—that together accounted for 72 calls. "We do respond to Harpersfield and Addison," he said, noting mutual-aid exchanges and citing responses to Harpersfield 31 times and Addison 37 times.

The chief outlined other department work including 185 inspections, plan reviews, fire-safety training for businesses and ongoing building and equipment maintenance. He described a recent renovation to the training burn room that cost roughly $15,000 in materials and required more than 200 man-hours. "That's all part of what is done there," he said.

Shook summarized the department's staffing model as a hybrid of full-time and part-time personnel that allows the city to staff emergency responses across shifts: "We have 1 full timer that works each day 3 days a week," he said, and added that full staffing is called out for fires and serious accidents. He also gave examples of nonfire service calls the department handles, such as unauthorized burns, power- or phone-line incidents and animal rescues.

Council members asked for clarifications during the presentation and Shook answered questions about what qualifies as a service call and about safety rules for burns and downed lines. No formal action followed the presentation; the report was provided to council members for their information.