Dupage Policy Journal

Lombard Fire Department responded to 510 calls in 2017 - 38.6 percent less than the previous year, according to data from the National Fire Incident Reporting System.

The calls in Lombard included 65 fires - 18 structure fires, six vehicle fires and 41 other fires. The fire department also responded to four calls for ruptures, explosions or overheating.

In all, the department saw $273,700 in fire loss - or about $4,211 per fire.

The department also received 441 false calls, including 12 malicious calls and 429 other false calls.

The Lombard Firefighters Pension Fund, which has 65 active employees and 52 retired or inactive employees, was $173,085 in debt as of December 2016, according to the fund's mandated filings with the Illinois Department of Insurance. That amounts to $1,648 for every fire in 2016.

	2016	2017	Year-over-year change (%)
Structure Fires	43	18	-58.1
Vehicle Fires	18	6	-66.7
Other fires	44	41	-6.8
Total Fires	105	65	-38.1
Total Calls	830	510	-38.6