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DeKalb Fire Department says new Station 4 cut response times, reports 10,716 responses in 2025
Summary
Chief Luke Howisonson told the DeKalb City Council that Station 4, opened April 11, 2025, helped cut neighborhood response times and that the department recorded about 10,716 responses in 2025; he highlighted a SAFER grant, nine hires, Truck 1 entering frontline service and expanded community paramedicine.
Chief Luke Howisonson delivered the DeKalb Fire Department’s 2025 annual report to the City Council on June 8, saying the year was “historic” for the department and highlighting new facilities, equipment and personnel.
Howison said Station 4, which opened April 11, 2025 and is staffed with three personnel, produced markedly faster response times in its neighborhood. “Engine 4 arrived on scene of that fire within 2 and 1/2 minutes,” he said of a July 5 house fire, noting prior response times in that area had been about eight to nine minutes. The chief told the council Station 4 handled just over 1,000 calls from its opening through the end of 2025 and, as of early 2026, had outpaced Station 2 by 97 calls.
The department also placed Truck 1 into frontline service in September 2025 after receiving the apparatus in July. “That new truck…has really proven its worth,” Howison said, adding crews spent nearly three months training to put it into frontline service.
By the numbers, Howison reported roughly 10,716 responses in 2025 and said EMS accounted for about 82% of the department’s workload. The chief said the department averaged about 21 emergency calls per day, recorded 6,136 patient interactions in 2025, and transported about 70% of patients — 64% of those transports involving advanced life support. Howison also said about 95% of the department’s sworn personnel hold paramedic licenses and that engines and the ladder truck are advanced‑life‑support equipped.
Howison described a significant leadership transition in 2025, with several senior leaders retiring, and said the department hired nine personnel last year. He also told council members DeKalb was awarded a second federal SAFER grant in fall 2025 to support additional staffing, and said the department intends to use that funding to staff Engine 4.
The department received a grant from the DeKalb Community Foundation to expand its community paramedicine program, Howison said, purchasing a follow‑up response vehicle, a cardiac monitor, a mechanical CPR device and a stair chair. He said firefighter‑paramedics now refer some repeat callers to local partners — Elder Care Service, RAMP and police social workers — to reduce unnecessary 911 responses.
Howison also described training and prevention work: the department completed roughly 31,000 hours of training in 2025, performed 468 fire inspections and attended more than 100 public‑education events. He told the council DeKalb covers about 55 square miles and 10 miles of Interstate 88 and provides a broad set of emergency services from hazardous‑materials response to water rescue.
Looking ahead, Howison said the department’s priorities for 2026 include recruiting to fill vacancies, fully staffing Engine 4 with SAFER grant hires, and pursuing additional funding through recently passed state legislation administered under a program he called the “GMT program,” for which state rules are still pending.
The presentation closed with a short video and a question period; Council members thanked the chief and the crews in the chamber for the report.
