Windham fire calls trend down slightly in second quarter

Windham firefighters and rescue personnel responded to
308 calls for assistance in June and handled a total of 
848 calls for help during the second quarter of 2022.
PHOTO BY ED PIERCE 

By Ed Pierce

Members of the Windham Town Council reviewed Windham Fire and Rescue Department statistics for the second quarter of 2022 during the town meeting on July 12.

According to a report complied by Windham Fire Chief Brent Libby, Windham fire and rescue personnel responded to a total of 848 calls for assistance during April, May, and June of this year.

The breakdown by month included 278 calls in April, 262 calls in May and 308 calls in June.

Second quarter calls were categorized as 30 calls reporting fires; 611 calls for rescue and emergency medical services; 36 hazardous condition calls (no fire); 38 service calls; 61 good intention calls; 70 false alarm and false calls; one severe weather or natural disaster call; and one special incident call. 

By comparison, Windham Fire and Rescue crews responded to 885 calls for assistance for the second quarter of 2021 and 770 calls for help during the second quarter in 2020.

During the first quarter of 2022, Windham firefighters and rescue personnel responded to 879 calls for assistance. 

Halfway through the year, Windham crews have responded to a total of 1,727 calls. In 2021, Windham responded 3,420 calls throughout the entire year, while in 2020, Windham Fire and Rescue responded to 3,301 calls overall.

Libby reported that Windham Fire and Rescue’s average turnaround time, which measure the length of time between dispatch receiving a call for assistance to a crew being enroute to the emergency, was 1.02 minutes.

He said Windham Fire and Rescue’s average response time, which measure the length of time between dispatch receiving a call for help to arrival at an emergency destination was 6.11 minutes.

According to Libby, Windham firefighters and emergency personnel spent a total of 919.75 hours training for emergency situations during the second quarter this year.

In his report, Chief Libby also mentioned that during the second quarter, Deputy Chief John Kooistra was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by Maine EMS.

He said that Kooistra received the award for extensive involvement with EMS in Maine of at least 10 years, and consistently performing above and beyond expectations in system development, patient care, service involvement and/or community involvement.

Libby said that during the second quarter, firefighter Matt Howe completed Pro Board firefighter 1 and 2 certification, firefighter Mike Mullin completed Pro Board fire officer 1 and 2 certification, and firefighter Noah Guidi completed Maine Basic Firefighter certification. <