Illinois Valley Times

Peru Fire District responded to 152 calls in 2018 - 42.1 percent more than the previous year, according to data from the National Fire Incident Reporting System.

The calls in Peru included 28 fires - 13 structure fires, six vehicle fires and nine other fires. The fire department also responded to two calls for ruptures, explosions or overheating.

In all, the department saw $157,300 in fire loss - or about $5,618 per fire.

The department also received 122 false calls, including one malicious call and 121 other false calls.

The Peru Fire District had an annual budget of $21,245 in 2018.

The Peru Firefighters Pension Fund, which has four active employees and three retired or inactive employees, was $59,099 in debt as of April 2017, according to the fund's mandated filings with the Illinois Department of Insurance. That amounts to $1,906 for every fire in 2017.

	2017	2018	Year-over-year change (%)
Building Fires	10	13	30
Vehicle Fires	9	6	-33.3
Other Fires	12	9	-25
Total Fires	31	28	-9.7
Total Calls	107	152	42.1