Lake County Gazette

North Chicago Fire District responded to 226 calls in 2018 - 8.1 percent less than the previous year, according to data from the National Fire Incident Reporting System.

The calls in North Chicago included 77 fires - 35 structure fires, 12 vehicle fires and 30 other fires. The fire department also responded to four calls for ruptures, explosions or overheating.

In all, the department saw $319,825 in fire loss - or about $4,154 per fire.

The department also received 145 false calls, including 50 malicious calls and 95 other false calls.

The North Chicago Firefighters Pension Fund, which has 32 active employees and 43 retired or inactive employees, was $417,646 in debt as of April 2017, according to the fund's mandated filings with the Illinois Department of Insurance. That amounts to $6,234 for every fire in 2017.

	2017	2018	Year-over-year change (%)
Building Fires	43	35	-18.6
Vehicle Fires	5	12	140
Other Fires	19	30	57.9
Total Fires	67	77	14.9
Total Calls	246	226	-8.1