The Fire Department of Antigua and Barbuda has released its annual report on its activities for the year 2023.

According to the report, the department received a total of 409 fire calls, out of which 376 were classified as major calls, while the remaining 33 were minor calls.

The highest number of calls was attended to by the St. John’s Fire station, which responded to 263 calls, followed by All Saints with 112 calls, Johnson’s Point with 30 calls, Coolidge with three calls, and Barbuda with one call.

The breakdown of the types of fire calls attended to by the department during the year 2023 revealed that there were 88 house fires, 37 vehicular fires, 68 brush fires, 74 rubbish fire calls, and 20 business fires.

False alarms accounted for 64 of the fire calls, while the remaining calls were attributed to other categories.

The report also disclosed that the Coolidge Station was responsible for responding to medical emergency calls, which were separate from fire calls.

The medical emergencies included those involving passengers arriving or departing from the VC Bird International Airport nearby.

In total, the station responded to 75 medical emergencies in the year under review. Compared to the previous year, the number of fire calls for 2023 increased by 22 calls, with 409 fire calls recorded as against 387 in 2022.

However, the 2022 figure was lower than the 402 calls recorded in 2021. These statistics provide valuable insights into the activities of the Fire Department of Antigua and Barbuda, and could inform measures to mitigate fire risks in the future.