Photo: City of Des Moines
(Des Moines, IA) -- The Des Moines Fire Department dealt with a record, 30,838 calls for service last year. The department has seen calls rise more than 56-percent over the past decade. Officials say a large part of the increase is due to the demand for emergency medical services, which accounted for 66-percent of calls in 2021.
"Our department is proud to serve the City of Des Moines,” Des Moines Fire Department Chief John TeKippe said. “Our residents know that whether they have a medical or fire-related emergency, they’re going to have some of the best trained and dedicated firefighters taking care of them."
“Long gone are the days where the Des Moines Fire Department’s purpose was simply to put out fires,” TeKippe said. “When you think about the fact that the majority of our calls now involve medical services, it opens your eyes to how skilled our firefighters really are.”
The Des Moines Fire Department added a new station, Fire Station 11 to serve the City’s northeast side, in November.
The Fire Department begins the 98thClass of the Des Moines Fire Academy with 29 recruits Monday, January 10, 2022.
FD Fast Facts:
- The 30,838 calls in 2021 was an increase of roughly 8.5% from 2020 (28,463 calls)
- Nearly 20,000 of the calls were EMS related
- Approximately 900 calls were fire-related incidents (Vehicle fires, structure fires, etc)
- Of the calls in 2021, roughly 10,000 were other calls (Hazardous materials, public assistance, false alarms, smoke scares, etc.)
- Des Moines Fire Station 1 was busiest with over 10,000 responses