Arcadia Fire Board adopts Standards of Cover, citing role for the report in funding discussions

The Arcadia Fire Protection District board voted Nov. 12 to adopt a Standards of Cover and Community Risk Assessment prepared with Cal Poly Humboldt and an outside consultant, approving Resolution 25-337 by roll call. The motion passed with three votes in favor and one against.

The report, presented by district staff, compiles nationally recognized benchmarks — citing NFPA, ISO criteria and fire accreditation principles — and outlines service-delivery recommendations, response-time targets and options for revenue tools such as development impact fees or benefit-assessment adjustments. "It gives you a starting point to build upon, either broad or as narrow as you want to focus on it," the fire chief said during the presentation.

Board members expressed differing views on the studys utility. One director said the document is a valuable third-party validation to support claims that the district needs more staffing: "I was hoping we would get a tool that I could use to demonstrate to my constituents why we need three firefighters at each station," the director said. Other members said the report is dense and would benefit from clearer, shorter summaries and easily located key findings for public consumption.

Staff and several directors said adopting the report strengthens the districts position when seeking community support for future funding measures and when negotiating with partner agencies. The board also directed staff to correct an incorrect date in the report before final publication.

The board adopted Resolution 25-337 on a 3-1 vote. The chief said the document will be used for public outreach and as a basis for discussing funding options with the city, the university and county partners.