Fire Department FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
All Rio Vista Fire Department engines and trucks are Advanced Life Support (ALS) capable. They carry essential paramedic equipment and are capable of providing ALS services. Currently almost 90% of all fire department personnel are trained paramedics.
Not currently at this time
Currently there is only one fire station serving the residents of Rio Vista, and it is located at 350 Main Street. A second station is being planned that will serve the western portion of the city.
There are a variety of ways that you can stay connected to what is going on in the Rio Vista Fire Department. Sign up to follow us on Facebook, and Next Door. In addition to receiving updates via social media, you may attend periodic Rio Vista Fire Department town hall meetings, fire station open houses, and various other community outreach events that are listed on our Calendar. You are also welcome to visit your local fire station and meet the firefighters that serve your community.
Rio Vista Fire Department Hotshots usually has several residential Knox boxes in stock. These boxes hang on your door and is only accessible by the Rio Vista Fire Department. These boxes can be obtained by making a request at Fire Station 55, 350 Main Street Rio Vista, CA 94571
In 2021 we had in excess of 2400 emergency responses.
The Rio Vista Fire Department staffs each engine and truck with at least 2 personnel.
We are working on expanding our staff in the office but we as of yet do not have full coverage and the firefighters were probably out on an emergency call. You can leave a message on our voicemail and someone will return your call as soon as possible.
A fire engine (or pumper) is the apparatus that carries hose and water to a fire. An engine carries over 3,000 feet of fire hose in various sizes, a 2,000 gallons per minute pump and 500 gallons of water in a tank. Once the tank water is used (which usually takes less than 2 minutes of firefighting), the engine must be connected to an external water source (a fire hydrant).
A fire truck (or hook and ladder) is essentially a giant toolbox. It carries specially trained personnel and tools, which are used for search and rescue, vehicle extrication, structural collapse rescue and several 100 feet of ladders including a 100-foot hydraulic aerial ladder. At fires, a truck’s primary function is to ventilate the structure and perform search and rescue inside the structure.
ALS stands for Advanced Life Support and is provided to patients who require paramedic services for serious emergency situations. BLS stands for Basic Life Support and is provided to patients with less serious emergency situations.
We are staffed 24/7 with 4 personnel, a Captain, an Engineer, Engineer Paramedic and Firefighter Paramedic. We augment this staffing with Intern Firefighters in an effort to get 5 on the initial response.
The Rio Vista Fire Department responds to:
- Hazardous Materials
- Urban Search & Rescue
- Water Rescue
- Disaster Preparedness
- Intern Firefighter Program
- Hotshots Volunteer Program (Fundraising & Support Group)
- Expanded Training Opportunities
- Safe Surrender Baby Program
- CPR Training
- Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Training
- Fire Safety School Assemblies
- Fire Station Tours & Engine Visits
- Santa at the Fire House
- Fire Extinguisher Training
- Smoke Detector Requests
We have 2 Type 1 engines, 2 type 3 engines, 1 water tender, a 95' aerial platformand a Zodiac Rescue Boat.
The Rio Vista Fire Department responds to many types of calls including medical emergencies, structure fires, vegetation fires, vehicle accidents, hazardous materials incidents, public assists and odor investigations.
The Rio Vista Fire Department has a used needle disposal program. Bring your used needles in a sealed container to:
Rio Vista Fire Station 55
350 Main Street
Rio Vista, CA 94571
The Rio Vista Fire Department works in collaboration with each of its partner agencies to maintain appropriate fire clearance and fire measures for all of its neighborhoods. These fire hazardous abatement programs are conducted in accordance with state statute and locally adopted fire codes and ordinances which dictate the timing and authority that is available to the Rio Vista Fire Department and local law enforcement.
We have automatic aid and mutual aid agreements with the neighboring departments as well as with the other Fire Departments within Solano County. These agreements were developed to lend assistance on emergency calls that we would not have enough staffing or equipment to handle. No Fire Department can afford to staff for all emergencies. All departments in California agree to assist each other when their resources are stretched to the limit.
What you are actually seeing are two separate fire departments and two adjoining fire stations. The station with the apparatus doors facing Main Street is Rio Vista Fire Department. Rio Vista Fire Department covers all responses within the City of Rio Vista and the Delta Fire District. The Fire Station with the doors facing Fourth Street is Montezuma Fire Protection District that services the unincorporated county areas outside the city limits.
Our Fire station is strategically located so a fire apparatus can arrive at any location in the city within usually four to six minutes. A fire engine/truck responds to medical emergencies with advanced life support personnel trained to initially assess and stabilize a patient.
Each person on the fire apparatus has a specific job:
- The Company Officer/Captain is responsible for supervising the Engineer and Firefighter(s) working on his/her command. He/She has the responsibility to assess emergency situations, request and organize adequate resources and mitigate the emergency in the shortest amount of time with the least impact to the community as possible.
- The Engineer maintains the apparatus in a state of readiness, cleanliness and function ability assuring that the equipment on the emergency scene has adequate supplies (i.e., water, air, lighting) available to emergency responders.
- The Firefighter is responsible to carry out the tactical functions needed to mitigate an emergency as directed by the Captain and supported by the Engineer (i.e., pulling fire hose, throwing the ladder, provide emergency medical services).
The Rio Vista Fire Department is an all risk response agency and needs to be able to respond from one type of emergency call to another in a seamless manner. Taking a fire truck or fire engine to an emergency enables Rio Vista Fire Department firefighters the ability to clear a medical emergency and transition into responding to a structure fire in an uninterrupted and timely manner.
The Rio Vista Fire Department 5-minute response time is based on two aspects of emergency response:
- Emergency medical service calls are to provide lifesaving to assure adequate respiration and circulation are restored within a 5-6 minute window period to prevent long-term brain damage.
- For fires, a 5-minute response time allows a sizable firefighting force to converge on a structure or vegetation fire, keeping it to its point of origin or 10 acres or less.
Yes, the Rio Vista Fire Department will assist you in changing the batteries in your smoke detectors. To request assistance please call (707) 374-2233 between the hours of 8am -5pm Monday thru Friday. We request you have your replacement batteries available when we arrive. Please be patient with us as we try to work these replacements in between emergency responses.
- Rio Vista Fire Station
- Administration
- Operations
- Prevention
- Community Emergency Preparedness
- Fire Department Documents and Forms
- 2021 RVFD Annual Report
- 2020 RVFD Annual Report
- Fire Department Standards
- Fire Department Standard 3.1 Apparatus Access
- Fire Department Standard 3.10 Large Family Day Care
- Fire Department Standard 3.11 Above Ground Tanks
- Fire Department Standard 3.2 Weed Abatement
- Fire Department Standard 3.4 Residential Lock Box Program
- Fire Department Standard 3.5 Fire Hydrants
- Fire Department Standard 3.6 Fire and Life Safety Inspections
- Fire Department Standard 3.7 Fireworks
- Fire Department Standard 4.1 Cannabis Industry
- Fire Department Standard 4.2 Cannabis Statement of Intended use
- Fire Department Enforcement Forms
- Fire Department FAQs
- Need help with smoke detector?
- Request a Fire Emergency Medical Report
- Volunteer and Educational Programs
- Sign up for Alert Solano
