Tecumseh's community safety department is busier than ever.
That's according to the Community Safety – 2025 Year in Review report presented to council on Tuesday.
Director and Fire Chief Wade Bondy says they handled 1,127 calls, including 470 emergency calls and 657 bylaw calls, a 43 percent increase over the previous four-year average with emergency calls up 22 percent and bylaw calls up 67 percent.
Inspectors did 182 fire safety inspections last year, finding minor violations in most of them.
Bondy said firefighters responded to the most calls ever recorded, mainly for kitchen fires.
"It was fires primarily and luckily that were extinguished prior to our arrival, but, they had the potential to be a very serious event," he said.
He noted there was a large increase in residential carbon monoxide alarm calls, with the majority false alarms.
"We plan to address it through public education," Bondy said.
"People need to know what the requirements are, because they did change as of January 1, and what to do. They need to know the sounds the alarm makes when for instance, the battery is dying versus it being an actual alarm."
Of the 657 by-law complaints, mostly were for property upkeep, drainage, animals, noise, and parking.
Bondy said the increase in calls had reached a point where it became too much for their lone bylaw officer to deal with.
"The calls that we've been experiencing in bylaw is incredible. For our sole enforcement officer to keep up with that pace for a long time is going to be very difficult, so we made the request to council and council agreed. They did approve the second position this year," he said.
The hiring approval was part of the 2026 budget passed on Tuesday.
It wasn't clear when a second officer would begin as Bondy said the hiring logistics still need to be worked out.