Des Moines’ 11 fire stations responded to a record 32,496 calls in 2022, an increase of more than 5% from the 30,885 calls firefighters responded to in 2021, city officials announced. “This is part of a larger trend we’ve been seeing for a decade now,” Fire Chief John TeKippe said in a prepared statement. Nearly two-thirds of emergency calls — 20,625 — were for Emergency Medical Services. The remaining 964 calls were fire-related. Fire Station One at 1330 Mulberry St. was the city’s busiest station. The Des Moines Fire Academy has helped the department keep up with the increased demand of emergency calls by conducting an additional accelerated 99th Fire Academy in 2022. The fire department also plans to graduate its 98th Fire Academy in early 2023 as well as kick off its 100th class in late January.