By Hunter Hine, Staff Writer

The Berlin Fire Company responded to 30 in-town fire and rescue calls from July 1 to Sept. 30, consisting of about 28 percent of their total calls for that period.

There were nine fewer calls in town this year compared to the same quarter last year, according to the Berlin Fire Company’s quarterly update presented at the mayor and City Council meeting Monday.

Out-of-town calls made up just over 72 percent of the company’s total calls this quarter.

On 18 occasions, the company received two or more fire or rescue calls at the same time. Overlapping calls happened 15 times during the same quarter last year.

The busiest times for fire and rescue calls were Sunday and Friday.

The company’s average response time increased by 34 seconds compared to the same quarter last year, bringing it to four minutes and 16 seconds.

From July 1 to Sept. 30, volunteers put in about 1,188 hours for emergency calls and about 495 hours for training, meetings and other non-emergency work.

The company has logged a total of about 4,484 hours for the year in emergency calls and provided approximately 7,683 total volunteer hours for the year.

The company received $7,000 from its annual mail donation drive and $275 in memorial donations for the quarter. Fire response invoices generated $1,850, event parking generated $317 and conference center rentals brought in $935 for the company.

The company had no unexpected expenses this quarter, according to the presentation.

Berlin Fire Company’s Emergency Medical Services responded to 285 EMS calls in town this quarter, which made up about 55 percent of their total calls. Compared to the same quarter last year, there has been a decrease by 44 calls in town.

Of the 285 in-town calls, 211 were transports and 74 were non-transports, which is down by 22 transports from last year.

The company’s EMS responded to 232 out-of-town calls, 121 of which were transports while 111 were non-transports.

From July 1 to Sept. 30, the company’s EMS had 82 instances where calls overlapped.

The busiest day for Berlin EMS was Sunday followed by Monday, and the busiest time was 4-5 p.m.

The average EMS response time was 48 seconds, while last year it was 59 seconds for the same quarter.

Berlin Fire Co.’s EMS received about $1,389 from invoicing and $210 in donations.

Costs for overtime-shift coverage increased to $11,390 this year, cost for medical supplies increased to about $1,782 this year, and vehicle repairs and maintenance increased to about $1,110 this year, all compared to last year.

EMS also ordered an ambulance for 2025 at a price of $411,000.