The Oxford Fire Department responded to 3,167 calls in the 2022 year, an increase from the previous year by 543 calls. 

OFD Chief Joey Gardner presented the 2022 annual report in front of the Board of Aldermen on Tuesday, explaining that most of these calls were EMS calls. 

“We had 1,303 of EMS calls, which is up 281 from the previous year,” Gardner said. 

The OFD responded to 121 medical assists calls, 129 motor vehicle accidents with injuries calls, and 37 motor vehicle accidents with no injuries calls. 

The busiest time of the day for calls ranged from noon to 4 p.m. with an average of 665 calls in those hours. 

The busiest days of the week for calls were Saturday and Sunday. Gardner also said the busiest month of this year was December. 

In December, the OFD had 148 different calls in the span of 48 hours, totaling at 368 for the month of December. 

“Something I thought was interesting this year with the increase was in 2021, we had five months where we had less than 200 calls,” Gardner said. “In 2022, we only had one month with less than 200 calls. We were a lot busier this year.”

Total inspections in 2022 were at 1,846. 

For fire education this year, the department saw a great number of children and adults being taught fire safety through events and classes. 

“We were able to provide public fire education to 6,435 people this year,” Gardner said. “For hours spent training, we provided 15,607 hours in the community.”