Fire department sees uptick in calls in early 2025
The first two months of 2025 brought increased runs for the Oxford Fire Department compared to the previous two years.
The Oxford Fire Department made 551 total runs in the first two months of 2025, outpacing the past two years at the same point.
The total runs in January and February are an increase of nearly 15% from the first two months of 2024, but are less than 10% above the same period in 2023.
Last November, voters passed a levy to support OFD operations. The levy will raise $1.27 million per year for the department, and Miami University will match that value each year. The levy was necessary to address staffing shortages and difficulty responding to calls, the department said before the vote. According to a March staff report, “significant training” with new part-time and full-time employees at OFD took place in February.
Of the calls in 2025 so far, two thirds have been EMS runs. The remaining third were fire runs. Just over 10% of calls have been drug or alcohol related, and four required narcan administration.
