At the latest Riverside City Council meeting on January 16, Fire Chief Chad Smothers provided the 2023 Annual Report for the Riverside Volunteer Fire Department.

The Department received 15 calls in December, bringing the 2023 total number of calls to 275. This is 26 fewer than 2021 and 80 fewer than one year ago. Of the most recent 275 calls, 190 were for EMS while 85 were fire-related. Broken down by location, 124 calls were reported in the Riverside city limits, 63 at the Casino, 42 in Iowa Township, 18 in Highland Township, and 28 were mutual aid.

Smothers shared the 2024 personnel for the Riverside Fire Department, which has 34 total members. This includes 10 EMS certified members, while two personnel are on military leave. The Department saw Todd Forbes retire in 2023 after 21 years of service. Tanner Forbes retired as well after 4 years with the Department.

Smothers also updated the Council on the funds received from the Riverboat Foundation back in November. “That’s gonna replace the set of extrication tools that were over 15 years old. So the new ones should be here hopefully by the end of February.”

As the Riverside Fire Department eyes a number of additional projects in 2024, the first will be hosting the Washington County EMS Training Day this Saturday.