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Fire department seeks inspector and pressures to expand arson investigations after spike in vacant‑building fires
Summary
Interim Fire Chief Kevin Albertson told the Bakersfield City Council on May 5 that the department investigated roughly 720 fires last year, about 510 of them intentionally set, and that councilors should consider additional arson investigators as vacant‑building blight continues to cause public‑safety problems.
Interim Fire Chief Kevin Albertson told the Bakersfield City Council on May 5 that the Bakersfield Fire Department is proposing a $70.4 million fiscal year 2025–26 budget that includes modest equipment requests and several capital maintenance items, and that the department continues to see a high number of intentionally set fires — many originating in and around vacant buildings.
Albertson said last year the department performed approximately 720 fire investigations, of which roughly 510 were intentionally set. The department has three fire‑investigator captains and one battalion chief assigned to investigations;…
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