Dupage Policy Journal

Wheaton Fire Department responded to 844 calls in 2017 - 8.2 percent less than the previous year, according to data from the National Fire Incident Reporting System.

The calls in Wheaton included 97 fires - 61 structure fires, seven vehicle fires and 29 other fires. The fire department also responded to one call for ruptures, explosions or overheating.

In all, the department saw $497,310 in fire loss - or about $5,127 per fire.

The department also received 746 false calls, including 10 malicious calls and 736 other false calls.

One fire service member was injured in fire-related incidents.

The Wheaton Firefighters Pension Fund, which has 37 active employees and 23 retired or inactive employees, was $1,673,066 in debt as of April 2016, according to the fund's mandated filings with the Illinois Department of Insurance. That amounts to $14,676 for every fire in 2016.

	2016	2017	Year-over-year change (%)
Structure Fires	80	61	-23.8
Vehicle Fires	8	7	-12.5
Other fires	26	29	11.5
Total Fires	114	97	-14.9
Total Calls	919	844	-8.2