SALEM — The fire department saw a decrease in total calls in 2025, but an increase in medical calls. 

As part of her annual state of the city address Tuesday, Mayor Cyndi Baronzzi Dickey presented an overview of the fire department’s activity last year, which included 2,301 incidents, 53 (2.2%) less than the 2,354 it responded to in 2025. 

Despite that overall decline, the number of EMS calls slightly increased with a total of 1,572, five more (0.3%) than the 2024 total of 1,567 and continue to represent “nearly 70% of all incidents.” Of those calls 181 resulted in the patient being transported to the hospital by the fire department’s ambulance, 68 (60.18%) more than the 113 transported in 2024. 

Despite increased transfer volume, the department’s total billing revenue decreased by $8,400.87 to $66,511.45 from its 2024 total of $74,912.32. However, this decrease was attributed to delayed payments from insurance providers, which can take months to process, as the department employs a soft-billing system meaning that only the insurance provider is billed. As a result “many 2025 claims are still 

pending” and “revenue is expected to increase in 2026 as outstanding claims are paid.” 

The breakdown of non-EMS incidents reported in 2025, with the 2024 total in parenthesis, included: 39 (67) fires, 26 (33) of which were structure fires; 150 (135) hazardous conditions; 341 (359) service calls; 71 (93) good intent calls; 126 (130) false alarms; and two (three) severe weather calls. 

Despite continued efforts to secure grant funding, the department felt the impacts of “fewer grant cycles and delayed funding opportunities” last year, with $21,717.74 in grant and fee revenue, $27,791.16 less than the $49,508.90 it received in 2024. 

The department continued to provide mutual aid to departments in neighboring communities than it received in 2025, providing aid for 15 fires, and eight medical calls, while receiving aid for three fires, and five medical calls.