By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Sitka Fire Department emergency calls were down slightly last year from 2019, officials report.
“It’s not down enough to say it’s a trend or a dip,” said Fire Chief Craig Warren.
The details on the calls will be broken down later this month, but the combined total number of calls for ambulance, fire, search and rescue, and dive rescue for 2020 was 1,358, down from 1,455 in 2019.
Warren estimated some 90 percent were ambulance calls, and most of the rest were fire responses, including false alarms. He said COVID may have played a role in the slight decline.
“We haven’t done a detailed breakdown but ambulance calls are down a little – maybe people are less likely to enter the healthcare system due to COVID,” he said. “Fire calls are also down – maybe people are paying attention more to the little things.”
One trend he has seen in recent years is a continued decline in search and rescue calls.
“It’s a factor of technology,” he said. “People are out in the woods with inReach. When they are overdue they’re able to send texts to their loved ones telling them that they’ll be home later. In the past, search and rescue would get started and we would meet up with them on the trail, coming back. Technology is a big winner for search and rescue.”
InReach is a Garmin handheld device that has GPS tracking and satellite communication ability, and can be used to send texts.
Dive rescue wasn’t called in on many calls, but the group is continuing to train, and continuing to keep equipment “response-ready,” the chief said.
“They’re doing a good job from that aspect,” Warren said.
Warren said in many other places, where COVID numbers have gone up, ambulance calls related to COVID are also up, including for those with severe symptoms. But, he said, thankfully that’s not the case in Sitka.
