Chester fire commissioner reports 2,836 incidents in 2025, details equipment and training gains

Commissioner John Paul Shirley presented the Chester Fire Department’s 2025 annual review to City Council on Feb. 25, reporting 2,836 total incidents and outlining training, equipment and budget context for 2026.

Shirley said the department responded to roughly 269 fire incidents, 661 rescue/EMS calls and about 1,100 alarm/false-alarm calls last year; of the fire responses, 57 were structure fires and 12 rose to extra-alarm status requiring mutual aid. He said the department lost three residents to fires in 2025 and named one casualty, Jennifer Patterson. Shirley gave an average response time of about 4 minutes 17 seconds.

Shirley described recent investments: thermal imaging cameras issued to firefighters (about $1,000 apiece), bailout harnesses purchased with a FEMA grant (about $55,000), and a State Fire Commissioner’s Office grant (about $90,000) used for station improvements. He also said the department has ordered a ladder truck (original order price about $1.4 million two years ago; current market prices now exceed that figure) and expects delivery in October.

On staffing and operations, Shirley said the department is a fully career operation with approximately 60 personnel and maintains a minimum on-duty staffing level for 24/7 protection. He described training priorities for 2026, including active-shooter response, technical rescues and continued mutual-aid cooperation with surrounding municipalities and VMSC (which replaced a prior EMS provider). Shirley also noted a recent transition to a more detailed incident-reporting system to support grant applications and better data collection.

What happens next: Shirley said he will present revised civil-service hiring rules to council on the following Monday to support recruitment and the city will continue to pursue grant funding for apparatus and training.