Canberrans fielded a record number of calls to triple zero during the past year, as emergency services prepare for the increase to continue in coming months.
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Data from the ACT Emergency Services Agency show 44,829 calls were made to triple zero in 2017, an increase of more than 5 per cent from the year before.
Figures from the ESA, who oversee the ACT Ambulance Services as well as Fire and Emergency Services, show 89 per cent of calls - or just under 40,000 - requested an ambulance, while 11 per cent of calls - or just under 5000 calls - were made to firefighters.
Emergency calls have been on the rise for the past five years in the nation's capital, steadily increasing from 34,750 calls made during the 2012 calendar year.
While there was a record number of calls to triple zero last year, the agency said it was well on track to eclipse the figure set last year.
"Between January 1 and April 30, 2018, Telstra has presented 15,335 emergency triple zero calls to the ACT Emergency Services Agency communications centre," a spokeswoman said.
"If this trend continues, we expect to see a similar increase in emergency triple zero calls for 2018."
The ESA spokeswoman said the figures reflected the number of calls made to its emergency call centre and not the number of incidents attended by emergency services.
During the first four months of 2018 more than one-third of last year's calls have already been made.
While the ESA data did not include the number of triple zero calls directed to ACT Policing, its most recent annual report said emergency calls increased in the 2016-17 financial year by 3.7 per cent.
"As the Canberra population and geographical footprint has grown, so too has the public demand for policing services," the report stated.
"This increase in demand for service exceeds the rate of ACT's population growth of 1.3 per cent in the 2016-17 financial year."
The ESA spokeswoman said services were being increased in the call centres in order to meet the extra demand.
"Arrangements are also in place to increase staff during heightened fire weather conditions, such as extreme fire danger," she said.
However, it isn't just the ACT experiencing a large growth in call numbers.
"Increasing demand, especially for ambulance services, is not unique [in the ACT], with similar trends experienced by ambulance services at a national level," the ESA spokeswoman said.
The increase in calls comes after triple zero services around the country were hit by a widescale outage last week.
Residents in several states and territories, including the ACT, were unable to contact triple zero after a lightning strike caused a fire at a Telstra cable pit near Orange.
