The Riverside Fire Department has seen success in recruiting new volunteers from their cadet program.

For the past five years, high school students in the Riverside fire district have had the opportunity to learn from seasoned firefighters and emergency medical service personnel as part of the Riverside Fire Cadet Program. Fire Chief Chad Smothers says that students will sit down with their parents and the department to ensure everyone knows what they expect of the cadets. Students sign on for a two-year commitment and go through basic fire and EMS training in the classroom and in the field. Smothers says the department initially got the idea after observing other departments, “We knew there were some departments around us that were doing this. We got a lot of our info and basis for the program from the Columbus Junction Fire Department. They’ve been doing it several years prior to us. So we kind of took the template they had and kind of tweaked it and changed it for us. They were super helpful and beneficial in getting our program going for us.”

Smothers adds they also felt a need to get more involved with students and show them a possible career path after they graduate. Each year the department takes on two to four cadets. Smothers says the department has had all but one cadet return to become full members of the department. With a roster of 34 members, he says they are in good standing but are always looking for more volunteers to join. You can hear more from Smothers during today’s KCII Public Safety Special Edition News Magazine airing at 1 and 6 p.m. and available through the On Demand page.