Pullman Fire Department sees busiest year in a decade

The Pullman Fire Department responded to more emergency calls in 2021 than it has in any of the past 10 years.

As of Thursday morning, the department responded to 2,921 calls for both fire and EMS emergencies, according to data provided by Chief Mike Heston. At one point, it was on pace to break 3,000 calls until activity slowed down toward the end of the year. The next-closest year is in 2017 when the department received 2,889 calls.

Heston said the reason behind the increase is simple: The city keeps growing.

“It’s all driven by population,” he said.

With more people moving to Pullman, new homes are being built and traffic is getting heavier.

Heston said his trucks sometimes have difficulty pulling out of the South Grand Avenue fire station because of the amount of cars on the road.

This population growth is why the department is working to acquire land near the College Hill area to build a third fire station and provide more coverage for the city.

“Our response times are getting longer and longer and we’re trying to keep that down,” he said.

Heston said the department was better able to handle the higher number of calls thanks to the hiring of five additional staff members in the past two years. A FEMA grant allowed it to hire three of those people in 2021. The department has 37 people on staff.

COVID-19 emergencies also factored into the increase in calls, though Heston said those emergencies slowed down over time. He believes this is because people developed a better understanding of COVID-19 symptoms and when they should call for an ambulance.

The fire department saw a significant drop in emergency calls in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. That year, many college students did not return to Pullman, businesses were shut down and home Washington State University football games were canceled. The number of emergency calls dropped 13 %

Emergencies quickly rose this year as WSU students returned to campus, crowds came to Pullman for football games and businesses were opened.

The fire department responded to 613 more calls than last year.

The majority of those were EMS calls as the number of fire emergencies has remained relatively steady in recent years. The department responded to 785 fire calls this year compared to 698 last year. The most notable fire emergencies in 2021 included a fire on college hill that destroyed two homes in August, and an October blaze that destroyed a two-story townhouse on Lost Trail Drive.

When it comes to medical calls, Heston noticed a significant amount were from elder care facilities. He said this is a sign of a growing population of people retiring in Pullman.

Heston credited his staff for continuing to serve the population, particularly when they have had to wear more personal protective equipment when responding to COVID-19 emergencies.

“Our folks have been very professional,” he said.