The calls in Wheeling included 51 fires - 31 structure fires, eight vehicle fires and 12 other fires. The fire department also responded to three calls for ruptures, explosions or overheating.
In all, the department saw $445,606 in fire loss - or about $8,737 per fire.
The department also received 614 false calls, including 13 malicious calls and 601 other false calls.
The calls resulted in three civilian fire-related injuries. Additionally, one fire service member was injured in non fire-related incidents.
The Wheeling Firefighters Pension Fund, which has 50 active employees and 52 retired or inactive employees, was $582,679 in debt as of December 2016, according to the fund's mandated filings with the Illinois Department of Insurance. That amounts to $8,445 for every fire in 2016.
| 2016 | 2017 | Year-over-year change (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Structure Fires | 42 | 31 | -26.2 |
| Vehicle Fires | 11 | 8 | -27.3 |
| Other fires | 16 | 12 | -25 |
| Total Fires | 69 | 51 | -26.1 |
| Total Calls | 868 | 668 | -23 |
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