Carbondale Reporter

Herrin Fire Department responded to 79 calls in 2017 - 41 percent less than the previous year, according to data from the National Fire Incident Reporting System.

The calls in Herrin included 43 fires - 20 structure fires, five vehicle fires and 18 other fires. The fire department also responded to one call for ruptures, explosions or overheating.

In all, the department saw $74 in fire loss - or about $2 per fire.

The department also received 35 false calls.

The Herrin Firefighters Pension Fund, which has 13 active employees and 10 retired or inactive employees, was $551,379 in debt as of April 2016, according to the fund's mandated filings with the Illinois Department of Insurance. That amounts to $11,253 for every fire in 2016.

	2016	2017	Year-over-year change (%)
Structure Fires	28	20	-28.6
Vehicle Fires	6	5	-16.7
Other fires	15	18	20
Total Fires	49	43	-12.2
Total Calls	134	79	-41