911 calls to DeKalb Fire Dept. down in 2024, data shows

DeKALB – Fewer people called 911 seeking help from the DeKalb Fire Department in 2024 compared to 2023, according to data released this week.

The department’s services were called upon 7,437 times in 2024, more than 200 times fewer than the 7,684 in 2023, according to the fire department’s annual report.

Fire Chief Mike Thomas delivered the report to the DeKalb City Council this week highlighting 2024 data and trends.

“As you know, our call volume can ebb and flow from year to year,” Thomas said.

Thomas pointed to a strong trend of fewer non-emergency calls in the data.

He said the department was successful in lessening those responses once it realized it had partners in the community, such as ElderCare, RAMP and the Housing Authority of the County of DeKalb.

“As soon as we started to connect the dots and place patients with the appropriate service agency, we were able to be successful in mitigating those non-emergent calls,” Thomas said. “That did affect our numbers this year. ... They accounted for over 120 calls. That is a chunk that’s off of our total call volumes this year.”

Data shows that 53% of all fires occurred in residential homes.

The fire department responded to 158 fire incidents in 2024, down from 173 the prior year, according to the report.

The makeup of the agency has seen its share of changes over the past year as well, with the addition of five new firefighters and paramedics: Joseph Batusich, Brian Mayer, Jacob Watson, Tabitha Long and Tyler Christopherson.

In doing so, the new recruits help the city to better operate the fourth fire station, which opened in April 2025.