By Stephen Nelson
The Bradley Fire Department released its annual report at the Monday, January 23, village board meeting. Fire Department Chief Don Kaderabek said calls for service are up 20 percent in the past two years. Most of the calls are Emergency Medical Services calls, and the majority of those are for motor vehicle accidents. Out of a total of 3,539 calls for service in 2022, there were 2,134 EMS runs. From that total, 168 were related to motor vehicle crashes.
Chief Kaderabek says staffing to handle the increased number of calls is a concern, but steps are being taken to up the available manpower. Kaderabek remarked collections for ambulance services are helping offset the cost of increased call volume.
“Two years ago the department collected $570,000 in ambulances fees, and we’re now over $1.2 million,” the Chief noted.
Kaderabek also said work on the second Bradley Fire Station on the northeast side of town is 90 percent complete, and he expects the site to be fully operational sometime this spring.