Riverside Fire Department

The Riverside Fire Department is the agency that provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the city of Riverside, California. As of 2015^[update] the department is responsible for servicing a population of 314,034 in an area of 81.51 square miles (211.1 km²).^[2]

Riverside Fire Department

Operational area
Country	United States
State	California
City	Riverside
Agency overview[1][2]
Established	October 7, 1887
Annual budget	$52,088,055 (2014)
Fire chief	Steve McKinster
IAFF	1067
Facilities and equipment[3]
Battalions	2
Stations	14
Engines	13 - first-run 8 - reserve
Trucks	4
Squads	3
Rescues	1
Tenders	1
HAZMAT	1
Wildland	4 - Type 3 1 - Type 6
Website
Official website
IAFF website

History

Fire Station #1, circa 1910, at the corner of 8th and Lime Streets (8th Street is now University Avenue)

The City of Riverside Fire Department can trace its origin back to 1875 from a newspaper article referencing the response of a hose cart to a fire in the township of Riverside. An unorganized group of volunteers existed in the Riverside township from December 1871 to April 1882. In April 1882, Frank Miller, the owner of the Mission Inn, convinced local businessmen to contribute towards a wagon and fire buckets, costing $500.^[4] Subsequently, William Hayt, a businessman and owner of several stage lines, began a drive to establish a complete fire department. Hayt got the city's Board of Trustees agreement to establish the Riverside Fire Department, but only after Hayt offered to raise half the money from local businessmen, and to put up the other half of the funds himself, to be reimbursed later. Hayt was able to raise $527, he loaned the city an additional $516, and the Riverside Fire Department was officially established on October 7, 1887.^[5]

The first major fire to confront the new fire department was on April 21, 1888, when the Pavilion, a large wood-frame structure used for many social occasions such as theaters, dances, and general meeting space, burned to the ground.^[6] Nearly two decades later, in February 1906, the first station was built for the Riverside Fire Department at the corner of 8th and Lime Streets.^[6]

The department received its first motorized unit in September 1909, with the $4,750 purchase of a Seagrave, hose wagon and chemical engine.^[7] Following another major fire in 1924 at the Motor Transit building, the number of fire hydrants in the city was doubled. By 1938, the department had grown to 33 firefighters and five engine companies spread out across four stations.^[7] Starting in 1998, the department transitioned to the Advanced Life Support (ALS) level of support.^[8]

USAR Task Force 6

The RFD is the sponsoring agency of California Task Force 6 (CA-TF6), one of the eight FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces spread out across the state.^[9] The task force is prepared to respond to a variety of emergencies or disasters, including earthquakes, hurricanes, typhoons, storms, tornadoes, floods, dam failures, terrorist attacks and other natural or man-made disasters.^[10] Some of their most notable responses include the Northridge earthquake (1994), the Oklahoma City bombing (1995) and Hurricane Katrina (2005).^[11]

Stations and apparatus

The RFD has 14 stations in the city.^[3]

Fire Station Number	Neighborhood	Engine Company	Truck Company	Squad Company	Reserve Engine or Squad	Wildland Unit	Command Unit	Specialized units
1	Downtown	Engine 1	Truck 1	Squad 1		Brush 1	Battalion 1, Battalion 51	UT-1, ATV 1
2	Arlington	Engine 2	Truck 2	Squad 2			Battalion 2	HazMat 2, Support 2 & UT-2
3	Magnolia Center	Engine 3	Truck 3					Heavy Rescue 3, Water Rescue 3, UT-3, ATV 3, HART
4	University	Engine 4				Water Tender 4
5	Airport	Engine 5	Truck 51	Squad 5	Squad 51, Engine 51			Breathing Support 5
6	Northside	Engine 6			Engine 54			EMS-1
7	Arlanza	Engine 7				Brush 7		UT-7
8	La Sierra	Engine 8			Engine 369			UT-8
9	Mission Grove	Engine 9			Engine 57
10	Arlington Heights	Engine 10			Engine 52
11	Orange Crest	Engine 11			Engine 53		Battalion 52
12	La Sierra South	Engine 12				Brush 52		DECON 12
13	Sycamore Canyon		Truck 13		Engine 56	Patrol 13		UT-13
14	Canyon Crest	Engine 14				Engine 8635		UT-14, Ladder Trailer, Fire Explorer Trailer, Quad 13 & Quad 14

Chiefs

LaWayne Hearn (2022–present)

Michael Moore (2014-2022)

Michael Esparza (2013 - 2014)

Steven H. Earley (2009 - 2013)

Tedd Laycock (2005 - 2009)

Dave Carlson (1996 - 2005)

Michael Vonada (1993 - 1996)

Douglas Greene (1986 - 1992)

Richard Bosted (1977 - 1986)

Fred Woodard (1973 - 1977)

Burney Montgomery (1959 - 1973)

Ray Allen (1942 - 1959)

William Taylor (1938 - 1942)

Ed Mosbaugh (1931 - 1938)

Jack Hutchinson (1929 - 1931)

John Bayha (1928 - 1929)

Jack Hutchinson (1926 - 1928)

Joseph Schneider (1901 - 1926)

S.L. Wight (1897 - 1901)

W.G. Polcene (1897 - 1897)

S.R. Smith (1896 - 1897)

G.F. Ward (1890 - 1896)

J.N. Keith (1887 - 1890)