Seven firefighters were injured in Arcadia house fire on White Oak Drive. The Arcadia Fire Department (AFD) required assistance from Monrovia, Sierra Madre, El Monte, and Los Angeles County. Six from AFD were treated at Arcadia Methodist Hospital. The seventh firefighter, from Sierra Madre Fire Department, remained hospitalized in stable condition at St. Luke's Hospital in Pasadena. The house sustained extensive loss. Nearby residents wondered if the AFD needed so much help from outside fire departments because of recent cuts to the AFD.
Second grade student Austin Puertas of Holy Angels School in Arcadia organized a fundraiser to help victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. He raised $1,153 to go to the New York Firefighters Fund. Austin Puertas and Captain Rick Sandona of Arcadia Police Department are shown in a photograph.
With a combined donation of $1500, Arcadia Rotary and Santa Rosa Rotary helped provide a 22-year-old fire truck to the city of Santa Cruz del Quiche in Guatemala.
A group of Arcadia firefighters who had gone to New York City to help after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks were so profoundly affected that they organized a fundraiser to benefit widows and orphans of the New York Fire Department and Arcadia Fire Department. Those who went were Captain Hutcheson, Captain Trabbie, John Beveridge, Craig Stogner, Cody Cerwin and paramedic Mike MacGregor.
Former Arcadia Catholic school teacher Elohim D'Leon released from jail. He was arrested last Thursday on suspicion of 10 counts of lewd acts on a child younger than 14 years old committed in 2003-2004 while he was a music teacher at Epiphany Catholic School in South El Monte. He worked at Holy Angels School in Arcadia 2004-2013. The investigation is continuing.
Cities of Pasadena, Arcadia, Sierra Madre, and Monrovia are seeking funding for fire training from the federal government (FEMA). They want to establish a training facility on federal property in Arcadia near the 210 Freeway and Santa Anita Avenue.
Arcadia Fire Department responded to a $40,000 structure fire in the 200 block of E. Haven Avenue in Arcadia. No one was injured. It was a single-story single-family dwelling.
The Arcadia City Council has agreed to create new positions for deputy fire chief and fire division chief in the fire department. The salary range is $93,000-116,000 for the deputy fire chief and $85,000-105,000 for the fire division chief.