HELENA — In the annual State of the City address, Helena Mayor Wilmot Collins announced that during 2024 the Helena Fire Department reported the highest number of calls in its history.
“At 5,000 calls a year, about 12 to 14 a day is not uncommon. A couple of days ago, we had 29 in a day. Each of those calls isn't just a call where we pick up the phone and talk to someone. Those calls are where three of the firefighters physically come out to a vehicle and go to an incident to provide services and evaluate the needs of the incident. So it can be pretty taxing that many times in a day”, said Helena Fire Chief Jon Campbell.
In 2024, the Helena Fire Department received 5,099 calls for service, a nearly 4.5% increase in calls from 2023. Around 70% of calls were for rescue and emergency medical service incidents. The smallest service call category was for fire.
Chief Campbell has been leading the department for nearly four years and says the city’s increasing population also means an uptick in demand for the department’s services.
“Generally, the primary factor is the population increase. If the population increases, the call volume goes up. It's not uncommon for fire districts and fire departments to see annual increases. And year to year, we typically see an increase of 3 to 5% with some variability across the board.”
The department is growing along with the number of calls. In 2025, the city plans to begin design work on Fire Station number three. It will be the city's first fire station north of the railroad tracks that run east to west across the city.
Voters approved a $6.5 million bond in June of last year to pay for the construction of Station Three.
Chief Campbell says the station will help the department meet the growing community's needs. “Having a station not impeded by railroad traffic enhances our geographic footprint and our ability to respond to the north area of our community. By having geographic coverage from stations, it ensures that crews are optimally located to be the quickest response for calls that come into the proximity of that station's area”.
The city commission has not yet chosen a contractor to build Fire Station Three and its training center.
