Fire Department

Public Safety Communications Center

The City of Riverside Public-Safety Communications Center dispatchers are trained to handle a variety of Police, Fire and Medical emergencies. They are responsible for receiving, prioritizing and sending appropriate assistance to citizens and visitors of the City of Riverside. The Center is staffed by 41 Public Safety Dispatchers and 6 Communications Supervisors. The Center has served as the City's Public Safety Communications Center for both the Police and Fire Departments since 1984, when the Dispatch Centers for both Departments merged to form one centralized answering point for all emergency services. Public-Safety Communications personnel handle over 500,000 telephone calls annually.

To best serve the public, the Communications Center asks that you use the 9-1-1 emergency line only when there is an immediate risk to life, property or the environment. Some examples of times when it is appropriate to dial 9-1-1 are:

• Any medical emergency, fire or rescue
• In-progress or just-occured crimes
• Any crime involving weapons (guns, knives, clubs, broken bottles)
• Domestic violence, in-progress or threatened
• Any vehicle accident involving injuries
• Anytime a suspect is still in or near the area

When you call 9-1-1:

Your Dispatcher will need to know:

1. Location of the problem. BE SURE TO GIVE YOUR TELEPHONE NUMBER AND EXTENSION TO THE DISPATCHER.
2. Type of problem. The Dispatcher will need to know if you are reporting an emergency requiring police, fire or other city personnel. You will be asked for a basic description of what has occurred.
3. Give the Dispatcher all of the information available to you. Do not leave out information because you don?t think that it is important. The more we know about an incident, the more effective we can be in helping you.
4. If you call 9-1-1 by mistake DO NOT HANG UP! Tell the Dispatcher that you called by mistake and that you do not have an emergency. Any time a Dispatcher receives a 9-1-1 ?hang up?, the caller must be contacted to be sure that no actual emergency exists. This may require that an officer be needlessly dispatched to your home or office to ensure the well being of all persons there.
5. If a person does not speak English the 9-1-1 system allows calls to be transferred to an interpreter who can translate many different languages.
6. If a person is using a Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) the 9-1-1 system will automatically detect the TDD equipment and open a TDD display screen for the Dispatcher when the 9-1-1 call is answered. The Dispatcher will require the same information as listed in 1 through 4 above.

If you are calling to report an incident that has already occurred at some time in the past, or to ask a question, please call the Non-Emergency number of (951) 787-7912. This direct number to the dispatch center is available 24 hours a day to handle calls for the Police and Fire Departments.

For more information regarding our Communications Center or 9-1-1 services, you may e-mail Fire Captain Tyler Stanford.