Forest Park’s fire and police leaders gave residents an overview of public-safety activity and preparedness at the Ward 1 monthly meeting.

The deputy chief reported the fire and EMS teams ran roughly 334 EMS calls in October and provided mutual aid about 17 times. The department logged 19 trauma-type calls and four cardiac arrests, one of which resulted in a return of circulation. On the fire side, staff reported one residential structure fire, two apartment fires, two vehicle fires, several brush fires and 163 EMS-assist calls, totaling about 232 calls for the month. The inspections office completed an estimated 38 inspections. The deputy chief said the average out-of-station time was about two minutes and the average response time was about 6.5 minutes across the city’s three fire stations.

The department hired one paramedic during the month and said two additional hires have completed the hiring process and are expected to start Dec. 1. The deputy chief also warned residents who plan to deep‑fry turkeys this Thanksgiving to take safety precautions: “Make sure that it’s completely thawed and completely dry,” the deputy chief said, and to conduct frying outside with an appropriate oil level and a fire extinguisher on hand.

Police Chief Brandon Chris said the department has recently onboarded a new dispatcher, is still recruiting for several officer vacancies and is asking residents to encourage qualified applicants to apply. The department is holding a turkey giveaway next week and will run a second annual Shop with a Hero program in December in partnership with the fire department.

Chief Chris said crime in the city is down about 9% compared with last year and that a holiday action plan launched Nov. 1 will increase patrol presence through year-end. He also said code-compliance functions have recently been placed under the police department and urged residents to report concerns through the city’s 1-Click reporting tool. The chief closed by noting an upcoming community beautification cleanup.

The departments’ updates combined operational statistics, staffing changes and community outreach plans; no formal votes or policy changes were announced during the presentation. The city said recordings of the meeting will be posted on the city website for residents who could not attend.