Metro East Sun

New Athens Fire Protection District responded to 36 calls in 2018 - 50 percent more than the previous year, according to data from the National Fire Incident Reporting System.

The calls in New Athens included 31 fires - 18 structure fires, six vehicle fires and seven other fires.

In all, the department saw $570,600 in fire loss - or about $18,406 per fire.

The department also received five false calls.

The calls resulted in one civilian fire-related death.

The New Athens Fire Protection District had an annual budget of $231,931 in 2018.

	2017	2018	Year-over-year change (%)
Building Fires	6	18	200
Vehicle Fires	7	6	-14.3
Other Fires	9	7	-22.2
Total Fires	22	31	40.9
Total Calls	24	36	50