Despite having a smaller area to cover than the county volunteer fire departments, the Columbia Fire Department still stays busy with calls.
About half the calls received through 911 in Marion County are for the city residents, according to 2019 statistics.
The CFD had 1,426 calls in 2019. The largest percentage of calls were medical with a total of 830 for last year. A total of 105 calls were responded to regarding motor vehicle accidents, 19 structure fires and six grass/woods fire.
The remaining 466 calls were for an assortment of different emergencies.
The city department is the only paid department in the county. It operates out of two stations with three shifts, each working 24 hours straight and then being off 48 hours.
While the volunteers with the county departments can pick and choose which calls to attend, for a city firefighter there is no choice. If you are on duty, you attend the call. It does not matter how many calls they may have already been on during their shifts or if they are asleep. If a call comes in then they have to go.
For more information about the Columbia Fire Department and other county fire departments, see the Salute to First Responders special section included in today’s paper.
