Winter weather accounted for the highest number of calls that found Mattapoisett and Marion firefighters rushing off to rescues in 2013.

“2013 was a pretty challenging year for us in terms of storm and weather events,” said Mattapoisett Fire Chief Andrew Murray. “We normally average between one and two calls a day.”

During the February blizzard, however, Mattapoisett firefighters responded to around 100 calls in three days, accounting for almost one-fifth of the calls for the entire year. The number of false alarms also rose from 127 in 2012 to 188, which Murray attributed in part to power outages during the storm.

In Marion, Chief Thomas Joyce cited Feb. 9 as the busiest day for the station with 29 calls and 150 overall for the month.

The number of fires remained steady in Mattapoisett throughout the year with 26, compared to 25 in 2012. Calls labeled as hazardous conditions, which do not involve fires, rose to 144 calls versus 122 the previous year. Murray said that could also be storm related.

“Any large natural disaster or weather event that happens throughout the year kind of throws our numbers off,” Murray said.

In other numbers, service calls fell by 35 to a total of 140, and response to medical emergency calls more than tripled as the department helped the EMS, which the Police Department manages. (The Police Department's EMS service responded to 515 calls, up from 449 in 2012.)

At the Marion Fire Department, which includes the EMS, first responders received 1,126 calls.

The number of fires and related rescues, including structure, vehicle and brush blazes, rose slightly from 149 in 2012 to 167. Joyce said the department also responds to a number of fire and carbon monoxide alarms, many of which could be avoided by changing out batteries.

“Always err on the side of caution,” he said. But, “when the unit is sitting there flashing at you saying it’s got a low battery, it’s got a low battery.”

Medical emergencies account for many of the department’s calls and remained fairly stable, increasing by less than 30 calls since 2012 with a total of 476. However, Joyce expects that number to rise in coming years as the 92-unit Baywatch Realty development on Route 105 comes to fruition along with an aging population.

He also anticipates more calls from surrounding towns for ambulance services (medical mutual aid), in particular from Wareham.

“Wareham’s resources have diminished to such an extent that we are going into Wareham a lot,” he said.

Twenty-four non-response calls were also on the books this year for Marion, indicating the time that EMS could not send an ambulance. Those won’t show up in 2014, said Joyce.

“Since December 9, since we initiated a new system, we’ve covered 100 percent of our calls,” he said.

The department now has full-time EMS staff that allows an ambulance to get on the road in less than a minute, said Joyce.

With that improvement, as well as fire safety education opportunities planned throughout the year in both towns, Marion and Mattapoisett hope to see fewer preventable emergencies in 2014.

And as the one year anniversary of the 2013 blizzard comes up, they're definitely hoping to avoid another insane February.