DES MOINES, Iowa — The City of Des Moines has released data from 2024 about the number, and type, of calls Des Moines Fire Department personnel responded to — and it was a record year despite a big decrease in one category.

In 2024, the city says DMFD crews responded to 33,858 calls. That’s an increase of 1.45% from 2023 and a record for the department.

There were 797 calls for fire-related incidents, a 16% decrease from the previous year.

“We’re excited to see a decline in fire-related incidents, which is why will continue to promote education around fire safety in the kitchen and home heating safety as those are the two most common fire types we see,” Fire Marshal Jonathan Lund said. “Residential fires are typically most common from December to February, so we want our residents to continue practicing winter fire safety.“

While DMFD saw a decrease in fire-related incident calls, there was an almost equal increase in special operations calls — which are made up of technical rescue, water rescue, and Haz-mat calls. There were 799 special operations calls in 2024, an increase of 17.8% from 2023.

A majority of DMFD’s calls in 2024 were for EMS-related services. The numbers for those calls, 20,979, remained almost even from the previous year — dropping by only one call.

The new Mobile Integrated Healthcare program is being lauded as a reason those numbers stayed steady from year to year.

“The Mobile Integrated Healthcare program is a direct result of strategic planning conversations with our firefighters who shared ideas and strategies that have helped us serve most vulnerable members of our community in new ways,” said Fire Chief John TeKippe. “This program has allowed us to proactively manage the health of some of our heaviest 911 users and get them the care they need without resorting to emergency services.”