Pine Bluff Fire and Emergency Services responded to 559 calls in October, 54 more than the previous month.
According to their monthly report, 10 of those were structure fires, one more than in September. Three of the fires were in Ward 1, three more in Ward 2, and four in Ward 3, the report said. There were no structure fires in Ward 4.
An additional 29 fires were described as brush, grass, or rubbish and accounted for just over 5 percent of the departments’ total number of calls for the month.
Another 313 calls were emergency medical responses and accounted for almost 56 percent of the total number of calls for October. A total of 28 calls were the result of motor vehicle accidents with injuries.
However, Chief Shauwn Howell shared some good news along with some bad news. Appearing on the Oldies 1013 morning show, Howell said the popular Santa Truck would again be on the streets during the Christmas holidays.
Howell also encouraged residents to be extra cautious with cooking, particularly during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
The department’s monthly training report showed that nine new firefighters began work in October and received training in CPR, fire ground operations, introduction to PPE/PPC, and EMT.
