In April 1909 the White City Saloon was completely destroyed by fire because the city did not have proper fire fighting equipment. Promptly, the city purchased a hose cart with 400 feet of fire-hose, two fire nozzles, a forty-foot ladder, six fire extinguishers and a fire bell for approximately $401.
A volunteer fire crew was organized and the alarm bell was mounted in a central downtown location. When the Oakwood Hotel burned to the ground in November 1911, the fire fighters were unable to successfully fight the fire because the city had no water system. Firemen and police shared space in the 1918 City Hall. An all-volunteer fire department was formed in 1923 and was discontinued in 1938 when a new force was made up of nineteen full time firemen.
Pictured here is the Arcadia Police and Fire Headquarters, 20 W. Wheeler Avenue, occupied from 1930-1956.
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Carol Libby and Karen Hou
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Arcadia Historical Society