Bill Musser, member of the Turkey Creek Township Fire Territory Executive Board, asked chief Mickey Scott about the number of EMS calls in Scott’s report during the board’s regular monthly meeting Thursday evening.

Scott reported in September there were 91 EMS calls. Musser pointed out that was at least three calls per day. Scott said yes, pointing to Oct. 9, where the fire department had six ambulance calls and Oct. 10 where there were four ambulance calls and two fire calls.

Board member Brad Jackson asked if all the EMS calls were legitimate. Mickey stated calls may be where the patient is stable, not critical, but all EMS calls are legitimate.

Bill Dixon, board chair, noted most calls are for medical reasons such as chest pain and shortness of breath. Scott told the board the type of EMS call has changed through the years from trauma injuries to illness. He also noted trauma injuries tend to be higher in the summer while illness calls are higher in the winter.

Scott also reported the fire department conducted its annual firehose testing and found about 20 percent of the hose failed. A total of 18 sections of firehose failed. Scott reported six 50-foot sections of 1 3/4-inch firehose failed; seven 50-foot sections of 3-inch firehose failed and five 100-foot sections of firehose failed.

Replacement costs are estimated at around $900 for the 1 3/4-inch hose and $1,500 for the 3-inch hose. Scott is still getting estimates for the 100-foot sections of hose. He said there is about $5,000 available in the new equipment budget to purchase new hose.

The fire department and board continue doing research on a Public Employee Retirement Fund plan for full-time employees of the territory. The plan is to move forward with PERF in January and possibly move forward with the 77 police and firefighter PERF in 2014.

Residents are encouraged to make sure their heating appliances are inspected and working properly in their homes. Residents are also encouraged to have working CO detectors along with smoke detectors.

Residents burning yard waste are reminded the fire must be attended at all times, be controlled and extinguished after dark. Indiana burning regulations and local burn ordinances can be found online at www.in.gov or by calling the fire department at (574) 457-5507.