A rescue vehicle left a fire department in Hamilton and Middletown a little more than once an hour on average last year and calls this year have grown to 32 calls a day.

But not all calls force firemen into burning buildings. More than 85 percent of the calls this year are for calls other than fighting fires. Health-related, hazardous materials, false alarms or other reasons topped 80 percent of their total calls in 2011.

Hamilton firefighters have been called to a fire showing flames 167 times or nearly once a day since January. In Middletown, firefighters were called to a fire showing flames 96 times in the same six-month time period.

“We’re at a pretty good track to eclipse last year’s numbers,” said Hamilton Fire Chief Steve Dawson, but quickly points out that fire departments have change with the times.

Materials used to build structures are safer now and don’t cause as many fires. In Ohio, there were only 40,382 fires in 2011, the lowest total in the last 25 years, according to the Ohio Fire Marshal’s Office.

“I think if you look nationwide, that’s the norm,” Dawson said of fire departments having more EMS calls than fire runs. “The fire services has evolved over the years.”

Dawson said that’s why many fire departments around the country are referred to as fire-rescue departments.

Middletown fire crews are on pace to repeat calls for service last year, but Fire Chief Steve Botts points out this has been done with less firemen.

The city cut six firefighting jobs when balancing the 2012 budget. That was two people per shift and it forced the department to eliminate one fire truck out of service and move an ambulance to a station outside of its service area.

“It’s proving we are doing everything we can with the resources that we have,” he said.

Last year, Middletown went on more than 10,200 calls, but only about 2,000 were for fire calls. Hamilton went on 11,656 calls and more than 2,600 fire calls last year.

In spite of the number of calls, response times in Hamilton and Middletown remain within the national average.

Dawson said the national standard is to respond to a fire call within 8 minutes. Hamilton responds to a call within 4 to 5 minutes on average, with the exception of the Seward Road area — which is an isolated pocket in the southeast portion of the city.

While Dawson said “each city has its own unique set of fire problems,” Hamilton and Middletown do share some similarities, such as being older industrial cities with older neighborhoods and poor neighborhoods.

“I’m proud of our department and our department is very efficient and competent in what we do,” Dawson said.

Middletown’s response times have increased by about 15 seconds per call since cutting six firefighters.

The city is trying to maintain what it has by passing a 0.25 percent public safety income tax levy in August. If it passes, they will accept a two-year federal SAFER Grant worth $1 million.

Botts said they can’t accept it yet because if the levy fails — which generates $2.8 million — the city can’t guarantee the staffing levels required by the grant.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2175 or michael.pitman@coxinc.com. Follow at twitter.com/mdpitman.