By Ray King
The Pine Bluff Fire and Emergency Services Department responded to 94 fewer calls in January than they did in December, according to their monthly report released Monday.
The report showed that firefighters handled 307 calls in January compared to 401 in December and a big part of the difference was a big reduction in fire related calls, particularly structure fires. There were 7 structure fires reported in January, one each in Wards 1 and 3, 2 in Ward 2 and 3 in Ward 4. Three of the 7 structure fires were listed as being caused by arsonists, while a 4th was said to be an accident and a 5th undetermined.
In December, 25 structure fires were reported in Pine Bluff and when the report was released, Fire and Emergency Services Chief Shauwn Howell attributed a number of those to cooking fires over the holidays.
Vehicle fires and brush, trash and rubbish fires in January also dropped compared to December with 5 vehicle fires last month compared to 12 in December 2020 and 5 brush, trash and rubbish fires in January compared to 9 in December 2020.
The number of emergency medical response calls, which accounted for almost 50 percent of the total number of calls in January was listed as 152 which was one less than the 153 medical response calls in December.
Vehicle accidents with injuries in January also dropped from the number reported in December. Last month, there were 21 accidents with injuries, 8 less than the 29 in December.
Firefighters went to 11 alarm calls in January, 10 less than the 21 reported in December, and there were 28 false alarm call responses, two fewer than the 30 reported in December.
Finally, the report showed a total of 78 calls that were classified as other compared to 122 in December. That was a decrease of 44 calls.
