Riverside residents receive law enforcement services from the Washington County Sheriff's Department and Volunteer Fire and EMS services from the Riverside Fire Department.

Law Enforcement Services

Law enforcement services are provided by the Washington County Sheriff's Department. Their office is located at 2181 Lexington Blvd. in Washington, Iowa. Their non-emergency phone number is (319) 653-2107.

Riverside Fire Department

The Riverside Fire Department is an all-volunteer department that is committed to providing the highest-quality fire and first responder services to the Riverside community and the surrounding areas. The department consists of:

The Riverside Fire Department is an all-hazards department. Personnel respond to various call types, including fires, medical, motor vehicle accidents, hazmat, and technical rescue calls. The Riverside Fire Department is a member of the Washington County Mutual Aid Association and the Johnson County Mutual Aid Association. The Riverside Fire Department is also a member of the EMS associations for Washington and Johnson Counties.

RFD provides Emergency Medical Services at the EMT level. The department has 7 members certified at the EMR, EMT-B or Paramedic level of service. All firefighters are FFI and Hazmat Operations certified. 

Meetings: Meetings for department members are held on the 3rd Thursday of the month for general business meetings, with training on the last Monday of each month and some weekends. The department responds to calls with 1 Engine, 1 Ladder Truck, 1 Tanker, 2 Brush Trucks, 1 EMS/Rescue Truck, and 1 Polaris Ranger. 

Washington County Emergency Management

Outdoor Warning Sirens

Riverside has two outdoor warning sirens. Sirens are activated when:

- A Tornado Warning and/or Severe Thunderstorm Warning has been issued by the National Weather Service (NWS)

- Strong Winds of eighty (80) miles per hour or greater

- Large Hail of two (2”) inches or greater

The Outdoor Warning Sirens (OWS) are a valuable resource designed and operated for the purpose of informing citizens who may be outside of a structure during times when certain inclement weather conditions arise. These Outdoor Warning Sirens (OWS) are not meant to be heard indoors, rather they are meant to advise citizens to head indoors to seek additional weather information. When an Outdoor Warning Siren (OWS) has stopped its activation, that does not mean that the inclement weather’s threat has ended. There is no follow-up "all clear" siren that is set off.

The testing of the Washington County Outdoor Warning Sirens (OWS) will be conducted on the first Wednesday of each month at 11:00 am, unless inclement weather is present, to avoid confusion.