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Despite arsons, EMS calls still No. 1 for Iowa fire department

By Cindy Iutzi
The Daily Gate City

KEOKUK, Iowa — Arsons aside, 2008 was a fairly standard year for the Keokuk Fire Department.

Calls for emergency medical service accounted for about 65 percent of the 1,151 responses firefighters made last year.

The department is licensed with the state as a first responder department because of the EMS call volume, and fire personnel have steadily increased training in the emergency medical response field to meet the demand.

Full story: Fire chief attributes the increase in medical-related calls to the economy