East Haven Fire Department: Nearly 6K Calls Were Handled In 2021-2022

EAST HAVEN, CT —East Haven firefighters, EMTs, and paramedics do what they do all day, every day. And the statistics representing what they do are at once eye-popping, and alarming.

According to East Haven Fire Chief Matthew Marcarelli, during the fiscal year 2021-2022, the fire department responded to 5,751 calls for service. During that time, there were 2,050 incidents occurring simultaneously, Marcarelli noted.

Everything from accidents to rescues, the town's fire department has the responsibility to handle all from the pedestrian, like false alarms, to the tragic, like fatal overdoses.

In the case of the latter, the fire department responded to 214 opioid overdoses in 2021-2022. First responders from the EHFD administrated Narcan 78 times. And sadly, despite resuscitation efforts, there were six fatal overdoses.

And there were 42 total cardiac arrest cases, with 22 fatal, with or without resuscitation attempts.

And the EHF responded to some 238 accidents.

It was a very busy year.