Moscow Fire Department sees record number of calls

If Moscow residents have noticed an increase in the number of emergency vehicle sirens they hear throughout the week, there is a reason for that.

The Moscow Volunteer Fire Department responded to a record number of emergency calls in 2024.

According to the fire department, that number of calls reached 3,002. This is a 6% increase from the previous high of 2,828 calls in 2021. It is a nearly 10% increase from 2023.

Chief Brian Nickerson told the Daily News he couldn’t point to one specific reason for the record number of calls, but he believes the area’s gradual population growth is a contributing factor.

The total call volume includes 2,208 medical calls and 794 nonmedical calls.

The department relies on 90 volunteers and a handful of paid staff to respond to these calls. Sixty percent of those volunteers are University of Idaho students who are part of the fire department’s resident program.

“It does stretch the limits a little bit of the volunteer aspect of it,” Nickerson said. “Is everybody holding together? Yes. Everybody’s stepping up to the plate and doing their part.”

Nickerson the MVFD is working on “creative ways” to add more volunteers. It expanded its resident program by four student volunteers during the UI school year, for example. There are now 28 residents in the program. The department also relies on nonstudent community members to volunteer.

“We’re always looking for volunteers,” he said. “That’s the primary purpose and goal.”

The department also hired two paid paramedics to assist its volunteer paramedics. The department has been allotted three in the city budget so there can always be a paramedic available during shifts. The newly hired employees have just begun their training, Nickerson said.

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.