The Washington Fire Department had a very busy 2012. On top of celebrating their 160th anniversary last year, they responded to 634 calls, which is a 10% decrease since 2011. The average response time for all alarms was five minutes and one second across the 65 square miles the department covers. The average response within city limits was four minutes and fourteen seconds. The Washington Fire Department provided mutual aid on eighty-two occasions and received mutual aid on twenty-one occasions. The fire department did not respond to any multi alarm fires in 2012, however on August 4, 2012, during the Washington Town and Country Fair, units responded to twenty-nine calls with-in a three hour period when severe thunderstorms swept through Washington. The fire department provided station tours, visited schools, conducted fire drills, held a poster contest, and countless other public relation events. The fire department was also able to get 5,679 training hours accomplished. A very big thank you goes out to the Washington Fire Department from all of us here at KLPW AM 1220.