South Central Reporter

Salem Fire Protection District responded to 93 calls in 2017 - 3.3 percent more than the previous year, according to data from the National Fire Incident Reporting System.

The calls in Salem included 73 fires - 30 structure fires, 15 vehicle fires and 28 other fires.

In all, the department saw $1,580,200 in fire loss - or about $21,647 per fire.

The department also received 20 false calls.

The Salem FPD Firefighters Pension Fund, which has four active employees and five retired or inactive employees, was $63,614 in debt as of April 2016, according to the fund's mandated filings with the Illinois Department of Insurance. That amounts to $1,200 for every fire in 2016.

	2016	2017	Year-over-year change (%)
Structure Fires	24	30	25
Vehicle Fires	10	15	50
Other fires	19	28	47.4
Total Fires	53	73	37.7
Total Calls	90	93	3.3