During the Monday, Feb. 1, 2021, City Commission meeting, Fire Chief Dan Fuller presented the West Fargo Fire Department 2020 annual report. The report, which covers the department’s accomplishments, vital statistics and state of the department from the past year, displays the department’s success in meeting the needs of the growing community.

The department responded to 2,186 calls in 2020. Of those, the department surpassed 1,000 fire rescue and public service calls for the first time. That represents a 2.5% increase in calls from 2019 to 2020. The City Commission approved the purchase of land for a new fire headquarters to meet the critical needs of the city in late 2020. 

“The new fire headquarters will greatly expand our capacity to handle multiple emergency calls in different sections of the city. This will reduce response times and improve outcomes for both medical and fire emergencies,” said Fuller. 

Despite a unique year with unexpected challenges, the West Fargo Fire Department celebrated many accomplishments and milestones in 2020. This included the celebration of the department’s 80-year anniversary and the addition of the first accelerant detection K9 in the metro area. A significant achievement is fire loss in the city decreasing from 2.3% in 2019 to 1% in 2020. 

The extensive retooling of the department to operate safely during the coronavirus pandemic demonstrates the department's culture of continuous improvement. Personnel of the department changed the way they operate, train and lead to keep serving the community while keeping emergency responders safe. Each employee has been wearing personal protective equipment on every call to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. Eighty percent of the department has received the COVID-19 vaccine.

To recognize the impact of the coronavirus throughout the community, the department dedicates the 2020 annual report to first responders and health care workers who battled the pandemic courageously and to the memory of those who lost the fight against the coronavirus.

To view the West Fargo Fire Department’s 2020 annual report and an in-depth video from Chief Fuller, you can go here.