Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Fargo Fire Chief: 14,592 incidents in 2025, department meets NFPA response goals
Loading...
Summary
Fire Chief Gary Lorenz told the City Commission the Fargo Fire Department handled 14,592 incidents in 2025, with about 60% medical calls, 224 structure fires, one death and six civilian injuries; he highlighted accreditation, Station 5's rebuild and recruitment efforts.
Fire Chief Gary Lorenz presented the Fargo Fire Department's 2025 annual report to the City Commission, saying the department responded to 14,592 incidents last year and that roughly 60% of those were emergency medical calls. "Our total call volume in 2025 was 14,592 incidents," Lorenz said.
Lorenz told commissioners that of EMS calls, first units arrived before ambulances roughly half the time and that the department's 90th-percentile response for EMS first-unit arrival was 8 minutes, 31 seconds. He framed those times against National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards and said Fargo's performance is "well within" expected variance.
The chief said the department recorded 224 fires in 2025 and that the leading structure-fire origins were cooking-related heat sources, smoking materials and electrical arcing. Lorenz reported one fire-related death and six civilian injuries for the year and estimated property losses at just under $4,000,000, noting those figures are estimates derived from incident records and square-footage valuations.
Lorenz highlighted a recent rebuild of Fire Station 5'noting living quarters were reconstructed and that apparatus areas and air-handling improvements were completed'and thanked neighboring West Fargo for providing temporary station space during the remodel. He also described the department's specialty teams (technical rescue and hazardous materials) and said Fargo is one of four cities in the state providing those regional resources.
On prevention and outreach, Lorenz said the department completed roughly 8,300 inspections (including reinspections) and contacted about 3,900 adults through public-education events. He emphasized recruitment and retention work, noting two recruit classes and 12 new firefighters added in the year, plus continuing field training and professional development.
Commissioners asked about how NFPA standards apply across different city sizes and about morale. Lorenz said standards are consistent across jurisdictions and that morale is generally good, crediting improved communication and the public-safety sales tax for organizational gains. He cautioned that budget and staffing pressures require continued planning and fiscal discipline.
The presentation closed with a reminder that accreditation and the department's strategic planning goals guide training, response priorities and future investments.
