Even as Sachse’s growth slows, its fire department is seeing increased demand for its services.

Sachse Fire-Rescue Chief Martin Wade updated councilmembers on the department’s call levels and training efforts during the Monday, May 2 council meeting.

Wade said the department’s staffing is much better than it was in 2016 when he first joined. At that time, there were a total of eight employees, six full time and two part time, manning the city’s two fire stations.

Currently, there are 10 personnel, five at each station, for all three shifts at both fire stations, said Wade. Deputy Chief of Operations Lee Richardson acts as a reserve firefighter or paramedic if there is a temporary shortage of staff.

Sachse Fire-Rescue received 2,836 calls for service last year, a 29% increase from 2020 when the department responded to 2,191 calls for service. The 2021 data more closely resembles the 2019 total when Sachse Fire-Rescue responded to 2,631 calls.

“2021 was a transition for us,” Wade said. “We were extremely low with COVID, but we’re starting to come out of it. We still don’t know the impact until 2022 but we have an indication of that.” 

The 2021 total was below the estimated 3,162 calls for service projected by the department. It estimates that it will receive 3,474 in 2022.

For the full story, see the May 12 issue of The Sachse News.