| Richland Area Fire Department |
| 2024 END OF YEAR REPORT |
Email: info@richlandareafire.com Website: www.richlandareafire.com | Tel: 740-593-6077 9255 Hooper Rd. Athens OH |
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Station Addition and Remodel 8
2024
Incidents
The Richland Area Fire Department responded to a record 294 calls for service in 2024 which is down from 331 runs in 2023. The runs equaled 1,073 hours and 50 minutes of on scene time. The chart below outlines the types and the number of each incident RAFD responded to from January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024.
Training
Members of the Richland Area Fire Department had a total of 595 training hours recorded during 2024. These hours do not include the countless hours put in by members who have earned their Firefighter 1 and Firefighter 2 certifications. Trainings attended by members included Athens County Fire School, Paradigm Pipeline Coordinated Response Exercise, Hazardous Materials Technician Training, Fire Officer Training, Ohio University Aircraft Incident Exercise, Hocking Valley Regional Fire School, International Association of Firefighters Peer Support Training, and monthly in-house training, among others. Topics studied included: engine company operations and tactics, traffic incident management, scene size-up, stop the bleed, CPR/first-aid, hydrant operations and maintenance, airbag operations, and extrication.
Equipment Upgrades
In 2024 the Richland Area Fire Department was able to purchase new ParaTech Airbags to replace the nearly 20-year-old set the department was utilizing. The bags can be utilized by the department to lift heavy materials during extrication.
Community Involvement
RAFD participated in multiple community events throughout the year. Events included multiple parades, Tunnel to Towers 5K, Noah Cox Memorial Truck and Tractor Pulls, Athens County Fair, York Twp. Fire Department Kids Day, American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association Flat Track Race, multiple Trick/Trunk-or-Treat events, and the Athens County Firefighters Association Firefighters for Families.
2024 Award Winners
Firefighter of the Year
Dallas Atkinson
Officer of the Year
Chief Dale Sinclair
Firefighter of the Year
Jarret Bright
5 Years of Service
David Lutz
Community Service
Award Hilda Cross
10 Years of Service
Andy Van Fossen
70th Anniversary
2024 marked the Richland Area Fire Departments 70th Anniversary. The idea of a fire department came after a fire killed a two-year-old girl in a home at the South Y on Richland Avenue, then known as Mechanicsburg. In 1954 this idea became a reality after the hard work of the community and our department’s founding members. The original station was constructed on Richland Avenue where the US 33 overpass is now located. Later Station 2 was purchased to make a quicker response to the eastern part of the coverage area and is still located on East State Street. Then in the 1970s the US 33 bypass was constructed, forcing Station 1 to be moved to its current location on Hooper Rd. Finally, an idea was born to build a third station in the Shade community which was opened as Station 3 in 2010.
Richland Area Fire Department now consists of the three previously discussed Stations, 1 rescue truck, 5 engines, 3 brush trucks, 2 utility vehicles, a boat, and a side by side for brush fires and patient transport. The department covers approximately 93 square miles including: 2/3 of Athens Township outside of Athens City, ½ of Alexander Township, ½ of Canaan Township, and all of Lodi Townships.
Looking ahead at 2025
Station Addition and Remodel
In 2023 Richland Area Fire Department began exploring the options of building a new station or adding an addition and remodeling Station 1 on Hooper Road. The project is much needed to allow storage of current apparatus and equipment, along with a larger meeting/training area. After much research and consideration members decided the best and most cost-effective way to complete the project was to remodel and place additions onto the current station. Our original plans to have these additions complete by 2025 have been delayed, however the department still has set the addition and remodel as a priority.
Alexander Township Review
2024 Incidents
The Richland Area Fire Department responded to 48 calls in Alexander Township in 2024 compared to 43 in 2023. The chart below outlines the types and the number of incidents RAFD responded to from January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024.
Athens Township Review
2024 Incidents
The Richland Area Fire Department responded to 114 calls in Athens Township in 2024 compared to 121 in 2023. The chart below outlines the types and the number of incidents RAFD responded to from January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024.
Canaan Township review
2024 Incidents
The Richland Area Fire Department responded to 43 calls in Canaan Township in 2024 compared to 55 in 2023. The chart below outlines the types and the number of incidents RAFD responded to from January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024.
Lodi Township review
2024 Incidents
The Richland Area Fire Department responded to 32 calls in Lodi Township in 2024 compared to 34 in 2023. The chart below outlines the types and the number of incidents RAFD responded to from January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024.
2024 Mutual Aid
Mutual Aid Given
| Athens City Fire Department | |
| Automatic Aid | 46 |
| Mutual Aid Request | 5 |
| Chauncey-Dover Fire Department | |
| Automatic Aid | 0 |
| Mutual Aid Request | 2 |
| Rome Twp Fire Department | |
| Automatic Aid | 1 |
| Mutual Aid Request | 0 |
| Waterloo Twp Fire Department | |
| Automatic Aid | 5 |
| Mutual Aid Request | 0 |
| Albany Area Fire Department | |
| Automatic Aid | 3 |
| Mutual Aid Request | 2 |
| The Plains Fire Department | |
| Automatic Aid | 1 |
| Mutual Aid Request | 2 |
| Total | 67 |
Mutual Aid Received
| Athens City Fire Department | |
| Automatic Aid | 21 |
| Mutual Aid Request | 6 |
| The Plains Fire Department | |
| Automatic Aid | 2 |
| Mutual Aid Request | 0 |
| Rome Twp Fire Department | |
| Automatic Aid | 0 |
| Mutual Aid Request | 3 |
| Albany Area Fire Department | |
| Automatic Aid | 2 |
| Mutual Aid Request | 0 |
| Carthage Twp Fire Department | |
| Automatic Aid | 0 |
| Mutual Aid Request | 2 |
| Ames-Bern Fire Department | |
| Automatic Aid | 0 |
| Mutual Aid Request | 2 |
| Chauncey-Dover Fire Department | |
| Automatic Aid | 0 |
| Mutual Aid Request | 1 |
| York Twp Fire Department | |
| Automatic Aid | 2 |
| Mutual Aid Request | 1 |
| Total | 42 |