Carbondale Reporter

Marion Fire District responded to 324 calls in 2018 - 9.1 percent more than the previous year, according to data from the National Fire Incident Reporting System.

The calls in Marion included 135 fires - 54 structure fires, 15 vehicle fires and 66 other fires. The fire department also responded to six calls for ruptures, explosions or overheating.

In all, the department saw $1,073,740 in fire loss - or about $7,954 per fire.

The department also received 183 false calls, including two malicious calls and 181 other false calls.

The Marion Firefighters Pension Fund, which has 23 active employees and 15 retired or inactive employees, was $160,012 positive as of April 2017, according to the fund's mandated filings with the Illinois Department of Insurance. That amounts to $1,416 for every fire in 2017.

	2017	2018	Year-over-year change (%)
Building Fires	38	54	42.1
Vehicle Fires	17	15	-11.8
Other Fires	58	66	13.8
Total Fires	113	135	19.5
Total Calls	297	324	9.1