South Cook News

Blue Island Fire Department responded to 231 calls in 2017 - 25 percent less than the previous year, according to data from the National Fire Incident Reporting System.

The calls in Blue Island included 59 fires - 23 structure fires, 10 vehicle fires and 26 other fires. The fire department also responded to two calls for ruptures, explosions or overheating.

In all, the department saw $977,350 in fire loss - or about $16,565 per fire.

The department also received 170 false calls, including one malicious call and 169 other false calls.

The calls resulted in two civilian fire-related injuries. Additionally, one fire service member was injured in fire-related incidents.

The Blue Island Firefighters Pension Fund, which has 25 active employees and 34 retired or inactive employees, was $965,362 in debt as of December 2016, according to the fund's mandated filings with the Illinois Department of Insurance. That amounts to $18,565 for every fire in 2016.

	2016	2017	Year-over-year change (%)
Structure Fires	26	23	-11.5
Vehicle Fires	11	10	-9.1
Other fires	15	26	73.3
Total Fires	52	59	13.5
Total Calls	308	231	-25