West Central Reporter

Jacksonville Fire Department responded to 288 calls in 2017 - 20.5 percent more than the previous year, according to data from the National Fire Incident Reporting System.

The calls in Jacksonville included 109 fires - 28 structure fires, 12 vehicle fires and 69 other fires. The fire department also responded to five calls for ruptures, explosions or overheating.

In all, the department saw $523,550 in fire loss - or about $4,803 per fire.

The department also received 174 false calls, including nine malicious calls and 165 other false calls.

The Jacksonville Firefighters Pension Fund, which has 26 active employees and 37 retired or inactive employees, was $218,555 in debt as of December 2016, according to the fund's mandated filings with the Illinois Department of Insurance. That amounts to $2,994 for every fire in 2016.

	2016	2017	Year-over-year change (%)
Structure Fires	35	28	-20
Vehicle Fires	14	12	-14.3
Other fires	24	69	187.5
Total Fires	73	109	49.3
Total Calls	239	288	20.5