Riverside Fire Department Master Plan Addresses Rising Emergency Call Volume

A new study shows the Riverside Fire Department is facing growing demand, responding to an emergency call roughly every 11 minutes.

City officials say the increasing workload highlights the need for long-term planning, prompting the development of a comprehensive Fire Department Master Plan designed to guide staffing, facilities, and resource needs through the year 2040.

The plan recommends adding firefighters, constructing new fire stations, and upgrading existing facilities to improve response times and better address wildfire risk across the city. It also outlines a phased approach to both personnel expansion and capital improvements.

“Through this analysis that was provided, we were able to develop plan phasing in personnel — phase one and phase two — and then also capital improvements in phase one and phase two that extend all the way out to 2040,” city officials said during a presentation on the report.

Leaders say the master plan will serve as a roadmap for future public safety funding decisions, helping the city keep pace with population growth, increased call volume, and evolving emergency risks.

No final funding decisions have been made yet, but city officials say the report provides critical data to guide those discussions in the coming years.

Explore: NBCPalmSprings.com, where we are connecting the Valley.