The Insurance Services Office, which rates fire departments, awarded the Arcadia Fire Department a "Class One" rating, making them one of only 16 departments in the country with that rating.
Arcadia Fire Department's recent reconfirmation of being a "Class 1" department by the Insurance Services office may result in lower insurance premiums for area businesses.
A Los Angeles County proposal to take over fire and ambulance service from the Arcadia Fire Department would cost the city as much as $8 million more than present costs over 10 years, according to a city report.
Fire Chief Michael Lang is leaving Arcadia Fire Department to be Fire Chief at Manhattan Beach. He was with Arcadia Fire Department for 21 years, including 5 as chief. He starts at Manhattan Beach Fire Department on June 21.
Chen Suen becomes first Asian American fire chief in Arcadia. He takes over from Barry Spriggs who retired November 8, after 29 years of service. Suen is an Arcadia resident. He emigrated from Taiwan. He graduated from Arcadia High School, and attended Loyola Law School, UC Irvine, and Santa Ana College, before spending the last 18 years with Arcadia Fire Department.
The lockup at Santa Anita Superior Court in Monrovia will close at the end of the month. The closure, due to budget cuts, will have a direct effect on the Monrovia and Arcadia police departments.
In a city that is 50 percent Asian, the first Chinese-American and Cambodian-American firefighters--both bilingual--have joined the Arcadia Fire Department. (Photo of Colorguard, Sun, Pheng and their parents).
Arcadia Fire Department received Fire Engine No. 343 from the Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES). The number is significant and it has been specially dedicated by the state to the memory of the 343 New York City firefighters who died on September 11, 2001.
Arcadia Fire Department and Monrovia Fire Department resonded to a fire that destroyed a vacant Arcadia house in the 1300 block of South First Avenue. The house was in the process of being sold and was in escrow. The damage is estimated at $300,000.
Damage saps fun from Angeles forest. Angeles National Forest's Chantry Flat Road remains closed after suffering damage from the 2020 Bobcat fire and subsequent fires. Storms and fires force closure of trails, roads and campgrounds, some for years. The forest's second-most visited area, Chantry Flat, in the section north of Arcadia, Monrovia and Sierra Madre, has been closed since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. A sign in Arcadia (photo) advises motorists of the Chantry Flat Road closure.
Arcadia City Council on Wednesday called for a study on whether it should contract with Los Angeles County for its fire protection services. The decision came after a marathon 5 1/2 hour session on the budget that attracted more than 400 spectators.
A fire on July 4th in Alhambra, believed to have been caused by illegal fireworks, destroyed Southland Display, a business that supplied posters and promotional materials to Hollywood movie studios. Arcadia Fire Department and other surrounding area fire departments helped to put out the blaze.
Three firefighters and a fire technician will be laid off February 1 in the latest cost-cutting move in the city's five-year struggle to balance the budget.