Fire Department releases annual report Monday, March 01, 2010

Kannapolis-The Kannapolis Fire Department has released its annual report for 2009. Highlights for the department include improved response times, the opening of Fire Station 5, and continued training and development for hazardous materials.

"As our mission, we are dedicated to providing the community progressive, high-quality emergency and preventive services," said Kannapolis Fire Chief Ernie Hiers. "I am proud of the performance of our department last year and the continued growth of our staff this year."

In 2009, the KFD responded to 5,534 incidents. Medical calls accounted for 69.9 percent of the departments responses. More than 80 percent of the calls had response times of less than 6 minutes, a 1 percent improvement from 2008. Fire calls accounted for 3.13 percent of all of the department's responses or 173 incidents for the year.

The KFD instituted monthly CPR classes in 2009, which are free to Kannapolis residents. More than $17,448 was collected for the MDA during the Fill the Boot Campaign, and blood drives were held every six weeks at Fire Station 1. An honor guard was also established.

Training was another major emphasis for the department in 2009, with more than 29,000 man hours spent in various exercises. A major push involved Haz-Mat as the department works to develop its own team. The department was recently awarded a $177,699 grant from FEMA to help pay for equipment.

In Risk Reduction, 71 smoke detectors were installed, 881 inspections were conducted, nearly 200 car seats were checked and 986 programs were given in the community.

To read the report, click here.

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