By Marty Trese, KnoxPages.com Editor
MOUNT VERNON – More than 1,000 times in 2014 the Mount Vernon Fire Department was dispatched to put out fires in structures, fields, or vehicles. 126 of those runs were false alarms and 90 of them were cancelled in route. The MVFD’s annual report also shows there were over 2900 patients transported by EMS, the majority of those for general medical concerns (1,528), injuries (645) followed by cardiovascular cases (361).
Chief Chad Christopher says 2014 was the second busiest year ever for the department. They collected over $879,000 from EMS billing, which supplemented the city general fund. Through the EMS runs, an average of $315 was collected per transport.
Several large ticket items were purchased, including training and rescue equipment.
Christopher cites one of the major accomplishments last year was establishing Station 492 (Elmwood) to be open full time. For the first time in MVFD history a medic and a fire truck are housed at the Elmwood Fire Station. This helps with EMS response times in the south end of the city.
2014 was the third year with a full-time Fire Prevention officer in place. This position has stabilized activities offering consistency and expertise with the application of the Ohio Fire Code, as well as arson investigation activities. The MVFD completed over 580 certified Fire Safety Inspections at local businesses last year.
The main Fire station on West Gambier Street is a destination location for many civic and school events. The training room is used by outside groups for meetings, blood drives and classes. The department conducted 36 station tours that brought over 1,000 people through the facility.
For the tenth year, the MVFD sponsored a toy collection for less fortunate children at Christmas time. Several thousand toys were collected and dispersed through the MVFD during the holiday season. They will continue the toy drive in 2015.
The MVFD operates three shifts with of 36 personnel, plus the Chief, Executive Secretary Holly Bredefeld and FPO Terry Davis.
Find out more about the MVFD at this link.
