Where We Are Now
Some recent significant accomplishments of our department include: providing basic life support/emergency medical services beginning in the mid 1980's; developing a hazardous materials response team in 1990; supporting the passage of our City's Fire Sprinkler Ordinance in 1992; creating and administering the Urban Search and Rescue Program since 1993; implementing the automatic external defibrillator program in 1998; evolving to advanced life support/paramedic services on all engines and squads in 2000; and growing to 14 stations by 2007. RFD personnel have continued to respond to the challenges of our own community and places abroad. Our department began a partnership with local community colleges by providing training facilities for the Riverside Community College Fire Academy and Truck Academy and more recently by establishing a preceptor program for students from the Crafton Hills College Paramedic Program. The RFD began donating fire apparatus, equipment, and training to our Sister Cities Cuautla, Morelos, Mexico and Ensenada as early as the 1970's.
The Swift Water Team was sent to Temecula in 1993 and to Sacramento in 1997. In 1994, USAR members assisted with operations at the Northridge Earthquake. On September 11, 2001, USAR CA Task Force 6 was deployed to New York City as one of the first FEMA teams; they assisted on scene there for 10 days. The Swift Water Team and USAR CATF-6 responded to New Orleans for Hurricane Katrina in 2005 where the team spent 10 days in a camp assisting in checking the ravaged areas for survivors. Sadly the Riverside City Fire Department experienced its first on-duty death of a firefighter, Eduardo Teran, on November 5, 2005.
In response to the increased threat to public safety as a result of terrorism, natural disasters, and criminal behavior, the RFD is rising to meet the challenges by being proactive in prevention and preparation. Disaster Preparedness, headed by an Emergency Services Coordinator, is now a part of the fire department as of March 2003. This division created a CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) Program in 2004 with the intent of training community members to be better prepared to respond to emergency situations in their community. The department's Fire/Arson Investigation Task Force has developed into a multi-agency program with the Riverside Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Riverside Fire Department was amongst the first agencies to begin using the Fire F.R.I.E.N.D.S. (Firesetter Regional Intervention Education Network and Delivery System) juvenile intervention program. Since the end of 2004, businesses can file their hazardous materials disclosures/inventories online; this information then becomes immediately available to the hazardous materials team in case of an emergency response. In February 2008, the City of Riverside was included in the Urban Area Security Initiative by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Also Riverside City's first search and rescue dog was certified for deployment in February 2008.
The passing of Measure G by our residents in November 2003, the Fire and Emergency Facilities Bond allowed our department to make station improvements and rebuild fire stations, and build a new Emergency Operations Center and Training Facility. The new Sycamore Canyon, Canyon Crest and Northside Fire Stations opened in June 2007. Emergency Medical Dispatch has been implemented in the Communications Center to improve the quality of information gathered during a 911 medical call and to give post-dispatch instructions to the caller for such situations as child birth, CPR, or severe bleeding.
The Riverside Fire Department has experienced many significant changes since the 1880's. It has grown from a purely volunteer group in 1883 to a fully professional fire department with 220 uniformed members as well as six fire inspectors, two plan checkers, a public education specialist and additional support staff. From the first hand and horse drawn equipment of yesteryear, technology has entered the realm of diesel engines and air-conditioned/fully-enclosed cabs.
From wet face cloths, to fully self-contained breathing apparatus; from leather-lunged chiefs whose voices could be heard through a trumpet two blocks away, to the electronic voice of the radio dispatchers whose voices can be heard for miles; to the specialized Haz Mat and Urban Search and Rescue teams, the Riverside Fire Department has experienced change.
The spirit of our department, which began in the 1800's with William Hayt and Frank Miller, continues today. However, the real honor belongs to the fire personnel, both past and present, which daily accept the challenge of keeping our community a safer place in which to live.
20th Century History
Motorization of the Riverside Fire Department began on September 15, 1909, with the $4,750 purchase of a Seagrave, combo hose wagon and chemical engine. With this purchase, the fire horses gave way to smoke belching, noisy, gasoline-powered trucks. The handsome and powerful steam pumper, previously impressive behind galloping horses, actually came to be towed behind one of the new engines.
Following another major fire loss in 1924 at the Motor Transit building in downtown Riverside, the number of fire hydrants was doubled. The fire also contributed to the passage of a 1925 bond issue, which increased fire protection, further improved the water system and allowed the purchase of two additional engine companies. By 1926, two new Seagrave engines and three American LaFrance engines had been purchased. One of these engines was later restored and is owned by the Riverside City Firefighter Association. By 1938, Riverside had 33 firefighters and five engine companies housed in four stations.
Growth of the department slowed to a walk during World War II. The firefighters, however, were highly essential in the establishment of the block warden program. In the early forties, Riverside gained national recognition when one of our firefighters, Ed Strickland, invented the pre-connected 1 ½" hose. This was soon adopted nationwide. During this same period, the department created a medical assistance program by placing a resuscitation unit on the back of a pickup truck.
The Department's continued growth and interest evolved to include more than the traditional emphasis of fire suppression and medical aid services. Even prior to World War II, fire prevention efforts received considerable attention. Another area of interest that received national recognition was the Driver Certification Program. This program taught all aspects of driving an emergency vehicle and tested each person prior to allowing them to drive an apparatus. This probably stemmed from the 1913 crash of its horse drawn steamer. The program continues today producing highly qualified apparatus drivers and operators.
19th Century History
The Riverside Fire Department's history is firmly entwined with the history of our entire community. Most of the people associated with the early development of the Fire Department were also responsible for the shaping of the community. Notable among these early leaders was Frank Miller, founder of the Mission Inn.
This is a proud history with a colorful past. The present members of the department recognize it as such, and strive to preserve this reputable past and add to it in the finest tradition established over these many years.
The Riverside Fire Department has participated in thousands of history-making activities throughout the last century and beyond. One of which was the famous elephant stampede of 1909 caused by a fire. It began when two Riverside men, William Hayt and Frank Miller, recognized the potential that an uncontrolled fire would have in this small 1880's village. In April of 1882, Frank Miller was able to raise $500, subscribed by local businessmen, to purchase a wagon with fire buckets and a hose reel. In that same year, William Hayt began a drive to develop a full-fledged fire department. This effort was hampered by lack of funds and a perceived lack of need on the part of the City Board of Trustees. On February 10, 1883, Hayt's worst fears were realized. The first major fire in Riverside destroyed the building and press of the local newspaper, the Press Horticulturist.
Five years of unprecedented local growth added people, buildings, and a greater need for fire protection. On July 7, 1887, William Hayt, continuing his drive for a fire department, bargained with the City. He offered to provide all of the money necessary, half through donations and half from his personal account, to buy new and better equipment. The Board of Trustees agreed, and Hayt set to work. He raised $527 through donations, and being a man of conviction, later put up his portion of $515.68. On October 7, 1887, Riverside's Fire Department was officially created. The first Chief, Cavalry Captain James N. Keith, was commissioned along with 1st Assistant D.L. Brant, 2nd Assistant S. J. Filkins, and Clerk G.F. Ward (later to become one of Riverside's chiefs). They were paid $12.00 per month.
With the arrival of the new fire equipment, a shed on the northeast corner of Eighth (now University) and Main Streets became Fire Station #1. The Fire Department consisted of a Chief, two assistants, a clerk, a bucket wagon, a horse cart, a hose reel, a hook and ladder and approximately fifty volunteers. All equipment was designed to be pulled with manpower. During this same period, the City began development of its water main system, making feasible the installation of fire hydrants in the downtown area.
On April 21, 1888, the fledging fire department met with its first major test. A fire in the lamp closet at the Citrus Pavilion, a large building near the corner of Seventh/Mission Inn Ave and Main Street, raged through the wooden building, engulfing it and the whole block. Unfortunately, the City had shut its water system down for repairs, but with tenacity and newly acquired training, the Riverside Fire Department saved a large portion of the city's wood-framed downtown.
In 1890, the first horse drawn apparatus was purchased and the headquarters station was moved to the Findley & Knight Livery stable on Main St. between Seventh (now Mission Inn) and Eight (now University) Streets. In 1891, Station #2 opened in a small shed at Sixth and Pachappa Streets. By 1900, Station #2 was relocated and became known as the Arlington Station.