San Luis Obispo City Fire annual report shows department responded to 12% more calls than year prior

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – The San Luis Obispo City Fire Department responded to 12% more calls in 2021 than it did the year prior, along with many other accomplishments highlighted in the 2021 annual report released on Tuesday.

“We are pleased to share the San Luis Obispo City Fire Department’s annual report for 2021, which highlights the great work of your Fire Department team,” said Fire Chief Keith Aggson.

The report showed that the department responded to 6,223 incidents from the four fire stations across the city in 2021, and while that number is over 12% higher than in 2020, it is only 1% higher compared to 2019, according to the report.

However, the department noted that there was a significant decrease in call volume in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The average response travel time for "lights and siren" incidents was three minutes and 34 seconds, and 68% of the lights and siren responses arrived in under seven minutes, according to the report.

Over $490,000 of property and content was lost in fire damage over the course of the year, but the department was able to save over $5.3 million from property damage.

The report also highlights the department's other accomplishments over the year, such as expanding the technical rescue team from three members to six, securing funding to launch a mobile crisis unit, and increasing social media presence to keep residents informed and up-to-date.

The full report can be found here.