In 2023, 14% of Grand Forks Fire Department's calls for service were fire-related

Apr. 21—GRAND FORKS — The Grand Forks Fire Department responded to 6,563 calls for service in 2023. Of those, 14% were for fires or fire alarms.

"That is very consistent with a lot of departments that provide the same type of services that we do," Fire Chief Gary Lorenz told the Herald.

The total number of calls has been trending upward in recent years, which Lorenz attributes to population and infrastructure growth, though the increase was much smaller from 2022 to 2023.

There were 6,519 calls for service in 2022, 5,631 in 2021 and 5,166 in 2020.

Most of the agency's calls were for rescue and EMS (67%), according to the GFFD's annual report, which was released Tuesday, April 16. With five stations throughout the city, the fire department is often the first agency on scene for any given situation.

"We're strategically located throughout the city," Lorenz said. "So, most often, we are there first."'

Because of this, firefighters are prepared for a multitude of scenarios unrelated to fires. The agency put in 24,922 training hours last year to prepare for these situations.

"We spend a lot of time out in our training facility," Lorenz said. "We do auto-extrication training every year; we do a lot of technical rescue."

The fire department is one of four regional response teams in the state, responding to hazardous material and technical rescue calls across northeast North Dakota, according to the annual report.

Technical rescue includes confined spaces, rope or high-angle and trench rescue.

"We spend a lot of time every year honing those skills and being proficient," Lorenz said. "Fortunately, we don't have a lot of those calls, but we are tasked by the community to provide that service, so training is how we maintain those skills."

In addition to responding to emergencies, Lorenz believes it's essential that the agency work to prevent them.

"I am of the opinion that one of our primary functions as a fire department is to reduce or eliminate the amount of emergencies that are happening," he said.

This is why the agency spends time educating the community on fire prevention, providing safety inspections, code enforcement and other resources, he said. In the past few years, the agency began offering a new resource — free home safety visits. In 2023, six were completed throughout the city.

Residents are encouraged to call the fire department at (701) 746-2566 to schedule a visit at their home. The agency comes in with a checklist and advises residents on what changes they could make to enhance safety in their home. Firefighters aren't just looking for fire hazards, either.

"We'll try and eliminate any hazards we see in the house," Lorenz said. "It's a very broad scope."

It's up to the homeowner, though, whether they want to follow through with any of the recommendations.

"There are no rules tied to it," he said. "There's no fine, there's none of that. It's a non-punitive, non-code enforcement — 100% for your benefit — service."

Nearly 60 structure fires occurred in 2023, with most taking place within multi-family homes that have more than two units (40.6%.) This is concerning, Lorenz said, because more people are put in a hazardous situation.

"Just recently,

when we had that fire

on the roof, we ended up displacing 92 units," he said, referring to a February apartment complex fire. "That can impact a large number of people."

Many factors go into preventing fires, Lorenz said, but the primary advice he gives residents is to be watchful of open flames and keep combustibles away from them, safely dipose of smoking materials and ensure proper use of lithium-ion batteries.

In January, a fire at the local Subaru dealership was caused by a portable lithium-ion battery that malfunctioned while charging.

Lorenz said this is a trend, not just in Grand Forks, but nationwide.

He advises residents to use the same charger that came with the battery, not pile stuff on top of a charging battery, not leave them plugged in once they're fully charged and buy equipment that is Underwriter Laboratories-listed.

"With cell phones, don't plug it in and put it under the pillow with you," Lorenz said. "Get it away. Things do get warm when they're charging, so (they need to) dissipate that heat."