GREENFIELD — Announcing the Fire Department’s end-of-year report before the Public Safety Commission this week, Fire Chief Robert Strahan said 2024 was the department’s “busiest year on record.”

“I keep waiting to not say that every year, but it is our busiest year on record with a response of 3,597 calls,” he said. “To put that in perspective, when I first got on the Fire Department, we were averaging about 800 calls a year, so quite a bit of a difference.”

The Fire Department’s records date back to 1890, according to Strahan.

According to the 2024 report, a total of 2,331 calls, or roughly 65%, were for emergency medical services and rescues. While Strahan said this proportion has grown over the years, he noted that Greenfield still falls behind the national average of 70% to 80% medical calls.

Strahan added in an interview Friday that while he is not certain what the increase in medical calls can be attributed to, he believes it is likely the consequence of an aging population.

Over the years, Strahan said, Greenfield Fire has responded to an increasing number of wildfires and weather-related emergencies, noting that the department’s ties to other agencies and fire districts affects this trend.

Greenfield firefighters responded to emergencies in surrounding communities 51 times and received mutual aid from surrounding communities 32 times in 2024, according to the report.

“We are seeing an uptick in larger fires, wildland fires throughout the commonwealth, and Franklin County has a what we call a hand crew, which are specially trained firefighters that respond to larger wildland fires throughout the county,” he said. “We have several members of this department that are a part of that overall crew.”

Of the 64 confirmed fires the department responded to in 2024, 35 were structure fires. The department’s call volume in 2024 was roughly 300 calls higher than 2023.

Weather-related calls, such as floods and downed wires, Strahan added, have increased significantly throughout the years.

The announcement was made alongside Strahan’s introduction of Brian Dew, the department’s newest firefighter. In an effort to reach a full staff of at least seven firefighters per shift, Strahan said he plans to hire an additional two firefighters in 2025.

“Our goal has been to get to staffing levels back when I first started in the department, and that’s a minimum of seven firefighters assigned to a shift,” Strahan said. “We have had periods of time where there’s been a shift or two with eight firefighters assigned to a shift, but the minimum staffing that we are trying to accomplish is to have the seven firefighters assigned to each of the four shifts.”

After Strahan’s report, Public Safety Commission member Ed Jarvis, himself a former Greenfield firefighter and deputy chief, highlighted that the department’s reported overtime hours dropped by roughly 30% in 2024 — a shift that he said increased staffing was responsible for.

“I don’t know how long we’ve reached out to the city saying, ‘If you staff us, your overtime will go down,’ so the proof is right there in the pudding,” Jarvis said. “This happens if they keep the personnel up and stay fully staffed.”

Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at acammalleri@recorder.com or 413-930-4429.