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Riverside Fire Chief Urges $293M Phase 1 to Cut Response Times, Add Stations and Personnel
Summary
Fire Chief Steve Mackenzie presented a master plan showing rising 911 demand and response-time shortfalls and recommended a Phase 1 package — including roughly 84 new firefighters, two new stations and equipment — with an estimated Phase 1 budget of about $293.4 million and multi-year implementation steps.
Fire Chief Steve Mackenzie told the City Council on Jan. 13 that Riverside’s fire response system is stretched thin as calls and complexity increase and recommended a two‑phase master plan that would add staff, stations and equipment.
"If we do not act, we cannot maintain the level of service that the community expects," Mackenzie said in his presentation, which reviewed call-volume growth and national standards. He said the department handled about 44,670 calls in 2024 and had already exceeded 47,000 calls in the following fiscal year, while staffed strength remained about 225 firefighters for an estimated 325,000 residents.
The plan,…
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