CEDAR RAPIDS
DEPARTMENT
FY25 ANNUAL REPORT
A note from the chief
I am privileged to lead an organization of individuals who are extremely talented and dedicated to the service of the citizens and visitors of Cedar Rapids. The Fire Department provides a breadth of service to the community, including basic and advanced medical care, special operations and hazardous materials mitigation, water rescue, urban search and rescue capabilities, fire code enforcement, fire investigations, and community risk reduction, in addition to fire response and mitigation. The department responded to 15,891 incidents in the past year, encompassing all the disciplines listed above.
Fiscal Year 2025 continued several long-range foundational initiatives intended to provide significant improvements in our ability to train and respond to the wide variety of incidents we see every year. We are continuing to build on strategic plan initiatives, organizational needs assessment recommendations, and continuous improvement through the annual compliance report submitted as part of our accreditation through CPSE.
We hired seven new firefighters in early June, and another three in mid-July of this year. These new hires offset retirements and put the Department at full authorized strength. Our Training Division manages a wide variety of training for our personnel,
Greg smith Fire Chief
resulting in 23,215 hours of training for the organization last year. The Fire Marshal’s Office ensures public safety through fire code enforcement and plan reviews for new and remodeled construction in the community.
This is an incredibly focused, capable team and we are constantly seeking innovative methods to improve services and provide financial value to the entire community.
Thank you to City Manager Pomeranz and City Council for their continued support of the Fire Department’s mission.
149
4
13
42
90
TOTAL SERVICE CALLS
SUSTAINABILITY ON THE FIREGROUND
Cedar Rapids introduced its first fire truck with idle reduction technology in 2024. When fire apparatus are stationary, this technology can shut off the engine and switch to battery power to maintain needed functions like scene lighting. Transitioning to trucks with idle reduction capabilities in the future will provide a variety of benefits to residents, firefighters, and the environment. These include fuel cost savings, decreased emissions, increased engine life, and reduced noise levels.
Fire Marshal’s Office Provides Lifesaving pre-emergency Oversight
The Fire Marshal’s Office works to ensure fire and life safety standards are met for the residents, visitors, and businesses of the City of Cedar Rapids. The division consists of ten personnel and one canine. They include: the Fire Marshal, Assistant Fire Marshal, Division Project Coordinator, three captain fire inspectors, one captain dedicated to new construction and fire code permits, three captain peace officer/fire investigators, and Wally, our Arson K9.
In addition to routine fire inspections of existing businesses, the division performs many other services. On any given day, you might find us reviewing building plans with the City’s Building Services Division, reviewing and permitting fire protection systems, working closely with special events planners to ensure safety at large gatherings, investigating fires for origin and cause, and providing case information for fire related crimes to prosecutors. In 2025 there were:
82 fires investigated
3,695 Businesses inspected
701 Building & fire construction plans created
PRE-INCIDENT PLANNING
Pre-incident planning is a vital activity within the Fire Department. Commercial buildings and residential structures with high victim profiles can be difficult to manage during emergencies. Developing plans and implementing safe practices for building access, fire suppression systems, utilities, and hazardous materials ahead of emergency calls can help mitigate risks associated with those structures. In 2025, CRFD transitioned to a geospatial (map-based) application developed by ESRI for recording pre-incident plans. This improved technology provides essential information to responding firefighters quickly and efficiently.
Community Risk Reduction Promotes a Safer Community
Fire Education and Prevention in Schools
In FY25, CRFD continued visits with each Kindergarten, 3rd grade, and 5th grade classrooms in Cedar Rapids. This year, CRFD retired the dated Safety Trailer and invested in a new program. Utilizing rotation-based learning, CRFD Firefighters and CRR Staff now cover the year’s learning objectives in one visit rather than three. These new lessons offer more hands-on learning for students. During this visit, 3rd graders role play 9-1-1 scripts, demonstrate how to escape a home during a fire, identify home hazards, and draw their home escape plans. CRFD visited 206 classrooms teaching 4,300 students these critical skills.
GIS Solutions for CRR
In FY25, CRFD began tracking select Community Risk Reduction activities to geospatially record prevention efforts throughout the community. In the future, CRFD will compare these CRR activities to dispatch data to identify areas of Cedar Rapids for additional focus. Last year, we participated in 74 community events and made over 10,000 community contacts. We visited 166 homes and installed 531 smoke alarms
CPR at the Market
In August 2024, CRFD and Area Ambulance joined forces to offer hands-only CPR practice to residents attending the Downtown Farmer’s Market. Mannequins give live feedback, which offers invaluable practice for first responders and residents. Approximately 100 people received hands-on experience with this program.
On-Scene Commanders value secure radio communications
Firefighter location within a structure and clear, uncompromised communications are critically important aspects of firefighting. The City of Cedar Rapids made a significant investment in firefighter safety by purchasing new portable radios in early 2025. The radios have an improved design for use on the fireground, including easier access to emergency controls in the event of firefighter injury or emergency. They also provide user-friendly interaction with mutual-aid and partner agencies. Bringing the repairs and programming back to City staff has paved the way for faster, high-quality improvements based on firefighter feedback.
Additionally, we switched all radio communications to encrypted channels which improves information security and firefighter safety. Blocking unauthorized users prevents on-scene information breeches and keeps team movement out of the public eye during tactical maneuvers in highrisk situations. Overall, this improvement elevates the safety of our team and outcomes for our residents.
Training Builds Confidence, Teamwork, & Speeds Responses
The knowledge, skills, and abilities required of Cedar Rapids Firefighters are vast. Providing an All-Hazards Fire Department in today’s fast-paced world presents challenges every day. However, with the desire, fortitude, dedication, and resilience of our crews and staff, the Cedar Rapids Fire Department training staff is meeting these challenges for the future. Our aim each year is to outline a plan for the Cedar Rapids Fire Department that builds on the basics of firefighting, emergency medical services, special operations, company-level drills, and leadership development.
The core of our training consists of working at the basics, looking at what is next, and determining how to weave those aspects into our daily habits of preparedness and emergency response.
Training courses completed by our members last year:
Mandatory Reporter (Adult & Child)
Driver Operator / Pumping Training
Preplanning
University of Iowa SIM Lab training of EMS Trauma Emergencies
Electrical Vehicle Training (Fire Blankets & Emergency Plug Adapter)
NFPA 1410 Drills
CPR and AED
Multi-Company Drills for Down Firefighters
Building Construction
Knox Box Training
Search Training Using Oriented Searching
Vent / Enter / Search Training
EMS Pharmacology for the Streets
ICS Classes
We have also undergone a job-wide Thermal Imaging Camera (TIC) class. Each shift member took part in a lecture and hands-on experience using the TIC to better understand fire dynamics, smoke, and heat. They explored those interactions in a structure fire while searching for potential victims.
Calm the Chaos
Cedar Rapids Fire Department emergency responses follow the Incident Command System (ICS), a standardized management system, to organize and manage emergency scenes. These incidents involving fires, multi-vehicle accidents, hazardous materials, and other disasters can be hectic. In line with its continual improvement process, the CRFD has enrolled in a training course titled Mastering Fireground Command: Calm the Chaos. This course teaches Incident Commanders to better control emergency scenes. It focuses on bridging the tactical gap between the Incident Commander making strategic decisions, and fire crews working at the task level. Following this method allows teams to work aggressively with the intent of saving lives and prevents firefighters from taking unnecessary risks.
rookie class 2025
The Training Division also runs the Cedar Rapids Fire Academy. In FY25, our rookie class spent nine weeks covering everything from pulling hose lines, using ground ladders, injury prevention, nutrition and exercise, hydrant basics, EMS skills, and community risk reduction.
CRFD works constantly to improve future training and preparedness by learning from real world experiences in prior years. We pass this information along to the newest members of the team for future readiness and the intent of making the Department a little better every day.
Iowa Task Force 1
CRFD is home to the eastern division of Iowa Task Force 1 (IATF1), the state’s Urban Search and Rescue team. Established in 2003, the team is comprised of more than 55 members including firefighters, dog handlers, and structural engineers. As one of the first rescue teams to arrive to disasters in the state, IA-TF1 has been deployed to tornadoes, floods, structural collapses, and explosions. Members are experts in structural shoring and searching for lost and missing people. In addition, they are trained rescuers in confined space, trench, high-angle and swift-water incidents. The team was most recently deployed to the devastating EF-4 tornado that struck Greenfield, IA in May of 2024. For more information, visit IowaTaskForce1.org
CEDAR RAPIDS Fire DEPARTMENT
FY25 ANNUAL REPORT
cedar rapids fire department
fy25 annual report – digital version