South Haven Area Emergency Services responded to a record number of calls during 2020 according to the department’s Annual Report. They were called out 2,358 times last year compared to 2,171 in 2019 and the old record was 2,276 in 2016. Executive director Brandon Hinz says there was a “significant increase” in medical related calls as those were 1,730 compared to 1,470 in 2019. Fire alarms, however, dropped to 628 from 701. Property losses from fire totaled $422,600, a significant decline from the $1,872,463 reported in 2019. There were no civilian fire-related injuries or deaths in 2020. The department was again busy in the area of water-related incidents on Lake Michigan and in the Black River. There were three drownings and 10 water related rescues. SHAES, which marks its 25th year in 2021, is comprised of 15 fulltime staff and 32 paid-on-call firefighters protecting 121 square miles.
