South Central Reporter

Litchfield Fire Department responded to 101 calls in 2017 - 31.2 percent more than the previous year, according to data from the National Fire Incident Reporting System.

The calls in Litchfield included 46 fires - 16 structure fires, eight vehicle fires and 22 other fires. The fire department also responded to one call for ruptures, explosions or overheating.

In all, the department saw $637,852 in fire loss - or about $13,866 per fire.

The department also received 54 false calls.

Two fire service members were injured in fire-related incidents.

The Litchfield Firefighters Pension Fund, which has 14 active employees and 10 retired or inactive employees, was $417,841 in debt as of April 2016, according to the fund's mandated filings with the Illinois Department of Insurance. That amounts to $10,191 for every fire in 2016.

	2016	2017	Year-over-year change (%)
Structure Fires	22	16	-27.3
Vehicle Fires	6	8	33.3
Other fires	13	22	69.2
Total Fires	41	46	12.2
Total Calls	77	101	31.2