(The Center Square) – Spokane Fire Chief Julie O’Berg told the city council on Monday that 2024 was her department’s “busiest year ever” as call volumes, structure fires and overdose deaths all increased.
The Spokane Fire Department has 18 vacancies, which it hopes to fill with the 2025 Fire Academy. O’Berg said despite logging 19% fewer overtime hours than in 2023, a savings of about 6% compared to 2023, SFD surpassed its annual OT budget by over 22%.
She attributed this to a 14.3% pay increase that the budget didn’t reflect, citing drops in hours and savings when looking ahead to 2025. The city canceled the 2024 academy due to a larger budget hole, and some have cautioned that $3.2 million isn’t enough for overtime through 2026.
“This was our busiest year ever; so exactly what that percentage looks like, I don’t have, but December was also a pretty busy month,” O’Berg said, “with not only an overall increased call volume but increased call volume just for working structure fires as well.”
She shared data with the council showing SFD responded to 48 structure fires and one brush fire alone last month, outside of dealing with the opioid crisis. Spokane Police Chief Kevin Hall provided The Center Square statistics showing at least 124 arson incidents from Jan. 1 to Dec. 21, 2024.
According to the crime report, the 124 incidents represent a 44% increase in arson across 2024 compared to the 86 recorded during the same period in 2023. However, overdoses are also on the rise, which SFD frequently responds to as it deals with the city’s fentanyl challenge.
The Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office told The Center Square there were at least 338 overdose deaths in 2024, a 45% increase from 233 in 2023. Still, the office expects the statistic to rise as pending toxicology reports come in.
O’berg regularly updates the council on overdoses, which disproportionately occur downtown, where many of the local homeless population frequents. SFD’s social response initiative, Spokane CARES, responds to those high-utilizers to assess and help facilitate their needs.
The program almost collapsed earlier this year due to a lack of funding, but Mayor Lisa Brown saved it by allocating $500,000 in opioid settlement money to increase staffing from one to four.
“For the last several months, we’ve been saying it’s not sustainable anymore,” Spokane CARES Manager Anne Raven told The Center Square in April. “With the amount of calls that we have, including the fentanyl crisis cases, it just wasn’t sustainable with our current staffing at all.”
O’berg said that after CARES receives a referral for an individual, the team will then look at their 911 activity. Before accepting a referral, the average person interacted with would call 911 roughly 4.17 times in three months; after CARES closes that referral, they only call 1.17 times.
The program illustrates a nearly 72% reduction in calls for those referred; the issue is getting people to accept services. She said Spokane CARES only received 55 referrals for 2024 despite there being over 2,000 homeless individuals countywide, with 38% reporting substance use.
The Spokane Police Department also faces this issue in grappling with illegal camping and homelessness. Calls related to unlawful camping increased by 145% last year, and despite a targeted enforcement program downtown, officers only made 13 referrals among 190 contacts.
“That’s moving the needle very, very slowly,” O’Berg said. “Our challenge as a community is to figure out how we move that needle with greater numbers, getting those people connected to the right resources.”
