April was the busiest month ever for the Clanton Fire Department.

The department responded to 170 calls from April 1-30, an all-time record. By comparison, 361 calls were answered from Jan. 1 through March 31.

Fire Chief David Driver said there was really no clear explanation as to why the call volume was so high.

“There’s no pattern; there’s really no explanation for it,” Driver said.

In an average month the department responds to approximately 120 calls, Driver said.

Most of the calls — 129 of them — were for medical issues. The most common issues were general illness, difficulty breathing, chest pain and falls.

The department also worked eight car accidents with injuries and responded to seven fires in April.

There were also 16 instances where the department was fielding more than one call at the same time.

One afternoon, the department worked three calls at once, which can be tough with only 18 volunteers, Driver said.

“We get stretched out pretty thin (in those situations),” he said.

The previous busiest month was January 2011, when the department handled 166 calls.

The fire department, along with the city of Clanton, is also busy finalizing plans for a third station to be built near the Peach Water Tower on Alabama 145.

Bids for the project will be opened on Tuesday, June 5 at 10 a.m. at Clanton City Hall. Estimates put the station’s price tag at $1.3-$1.5 million. The station should be finished by early 2014.

Once operational, the station will serve Interstate 65 and Alabama 145 as well as areas toward Lomax.

“It’s basically going to service the whole north end of the city,” Driver said.