January 2021 Newtown Fire & Emergency Services Incident Report

At the Februray 24, 2021, Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting, Fire Chief Glenn Forstythe presented the January 2021 Newtown Fire & Emergency Services Incident Report, which breaks down incidents by type, by township in which they occurred, and which incidents were handled by the volunteer Newtown Fire Association (NFA) and which by the paid Newtown Emergency Services Department (NESD). 

The NFA is on call from 6pm to 6am Monday through Friday and on Weekends; NESD covers the weekdays from 6am to 6pm.

Types of Calls

There were a total of 85 calls in January, 2021. Here's the breakdown by type of call:

A "Fire" incident may involve building fires, cooking fires, brush/grass fires, dumpster fires, etc. "Hazardous Condition" calls do not involve fires. These include gas leaks, wiring short circuits, etc. 

“Good Intent Calls” make up on average about 20-25% of incidents. A good intent is like a false alarm but with reason to think that it was an actual emergency. Here are a few classic examples: (1) You're riding down the highway and come upon a vehicle surround by a huge cloud of smoke. You call the fire department and when they arrive they find out the vehicle isn't actually on fire but has burst a hose or run hot.  (2) Certain weather conditions can also make dryer exhaust looks like smoke and that make for a lot of good intent fire calls. (3) Outdoor grills when first started can also produce enough flame and smoke and sometimes these are reported as fires.

Calls By Township/Borough

The majority of calls (71%) are within Newtown Township with about 12% in Newtown Boarough.

Posted on 25 Feb 2021, 14:09 - Category: First Responders