Annual report shows slight increase in Iowa City fires

The Iowa City Fire Department responded to 170 fires in 2010. That's up from 160 fires the year before, but still an improvement over other recent years, according to a new report released by the city.

Just five years ago, the department responded to more than 230 fires. The number of fire calls decreased steadily until last year. Fire officials hope their awareness efforts have helped to drive down the number of fires.

“I'd like to think that whether it's public education or code enforcement or all of those things, that we make a difference,” Chief Andy Rocca said in an interview. “It's very difficult to quantify that. It's something that we struggle with - measuring the effectiveness of our activities.”

While the majority of fires in Iowa City in 2010 were deemed unintentional by investigators, officials stress that unattended cooking and careless disposal of cooking materials are two of the most common causes of home fires.

Of the 170 fires the department was called to, 22 of them were private dwellings - housing structures with one or two families. The most destructive fire came in February of 2010 when an apartment building at 515 East College Street sustained an estimated $130,000 million in damage.

In all, Iowa City fire authorities responded to almost 4,500 calls last year - about an 8 percent increase from 2009. Those calls include fires, medical emergencies, and rescue services.