The Arcata Fire District Board has been trying to inform and educate the Arcata City Council for years on the inadequacy of fire protection here in Arcata. Includes excerpt of Arcata Fire District Board minutes, a letter from the AFD Board to the Mayor of Arcata, dated April 8, 2024, and a letter from citizen Gregory Daggett: "While I support thoughtful urban development, the current fire protection infrastructure in Arcata is dangerously inadequate for buildings taller than three stories—a fact that has been repeatedly communicated to the Council and Planning Commission by the Arcata Fire Protection District."

A listing of the recommendations from the Standard of Cover report. As you read through them, please ask yourself this question:  Which of these recommendations will help the Arcata Fire District firefighters deal with a fire in a four-story (or taller) building? Where is the source of funding to actually expand the capabilities of the AFD, so that they can provide minimal fire protection for taller buildings? Actually achieving fire protection for four-story and taller buildings was supposed to be included in the Triton report. But the report is woefully lacking in specifics and in goals. It is 40% wishful thinking and 60% fluff.

The City Council has these important decisions to make -- "Arcata’s own Gateway Code specifies that a permit will not be granted on a building that is detrimental to the public interest, health, or safety, or is potentially materially injurious to persons or property." "The Council needs to decide if it is willing to have Arcata grant permits for four-story or taller buildings." "It is my view that the way to get this money is, in a sense, to extort or threaten the State and the CSU system. To convince the State to come up with money for us, they need to be told what could happen if they don’t. It has to be "an offer that they can't refuse.""

Reading time: 8 minutes -- It is my opinion that, given time, the AFD, the City of Arcata, and Cal Poly will find a solution to the Fire Protection issue. In this BRIEF article, a possible solution is offered so that taller buildings can be planned for in the Gateway area. **** WITH VIDEO from the August 22, 2023, City Council / Planning Commission joint study session.

The "Standards of Cover" report was commissioned in January 2024, for expected delivery on August 1 of that year. It arrived at the end of July, 2025 -- one year late. The report is pure bureaucratic fluff that has very little of substance to enable the Arcata Fire District accomplish its aims, which are to provide fire protection for the occupants of buildings that are greater than three stories.

Reading time 2 minutes. An A.I. summary of the AP Triton "Standards of Cover" report. It has not been edited here. It was produced on September 9, 2025, prior to the Council / Arcata Fire District joint study session on September 10th.

Arcata's Gateway Area Code specifically states that a new building cannot be detrimental to the health, safety, or public interest, nor can it be potentially injurious to persons or property. Seeing as the Arcata Fire District has clearly and specifically told the City Council that that cannot provide fire protection in buildings taller than 3 stories, wouldn't that make a 4-story building be impossible to be approved? This is a question for the legal experts to determine.

The Arcata Fire District Board has been trying to inform and educate the Arcata City Council for years on the inadequacy of fire protection here in Arcata. Includes excerpt of Arcata Fire District Board minutes, a letter from the AFD Board to the Mayor of Arcata, dated April 8, 2024, and a letter from citizen Gregory Daggett: "While I support thoughtful urban development, the current fire protection infrastructure in Arcata is dangerously inadequate for buildings taller than three stories—a fact that has been repeatedly communicated to the Council and Planning Commission by the Arcata Fire Protection District."

At the April 9, 2024, Arcata Fire District's Board of Directors meeting, the Board discussed and approved a letter to be sent to the Arcata Mayor and Arcata City Council. That letter is re-printed here ----This letter formalizes and re-states what the AFD has been telling the City Council over these past two years. At the current time, the AFD cannot ensure the safety of people living in a building that is over 40 feet tall, which would be a three-story building.

3 MINUTES TO READ -- On April 9, 2024, the Arcata Fire District Board sent a letter to the City Council, stating that the AFD cannot ensure the safety of people living in a building that is over 40 feet tall — a three-story building. On April 18, 2024, the Arcata Fire District Board wrote to Community Development Director with a simple request:  To provide that April 9, 2024, letter to the Planning Commissioners. Director Loya did not honor this simple request.

From the Arcata Fire District May 28, 2024 letter: "We are writing to request that approval of these elements be denied at this time and put on hold until the AP Triton Standard of Coverage (SOC) for the AFPD is completed and the Arcata City Council and AFPD Board of Directors achieve consensus on a plan for the likely expansion of the District's capacity."

Arcata Fire District Board Director Eric Loudenslager spoke at the Planning Commission meeting of January 10, 2023. Includes discussions of costs, staffing requirements, and potential response times involved for providing adequate fire and emergency protection in the Gateway area and throughout Arcata.

Eric Loudenslager, Board of Directors member of the Arcata Fire Protection District, weighs in on some of the challenges of the Gateway Plan, and some requests for information and involvement.

A section of the Arcata Fire District Board Meeting of December 13th, 2022 regarding the costs, staffing requirements, and potential response times involved for providing adequate fire and emergency protection in the Gateway area.

The construction of a new dormitory at the site of the old Craftsman's Mall is of great concern to the Arcata Fire District. In summary, the proposed dorms will be two seven story buildings, and the Arcata Fire District has stated that they cannot provide adequate fire protection these structures.

The full 15-page Grand Jury report on the Arcata Fire District issues. Plus links to articles in the local media on this subject matter.

The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury has released a report warning that the Arcata Fire District is “approaching desperate financial conditions” and may have to reduce services and close one of its stations. The report also delves into the District’s lack of a ladder truck and proper staffing to respond to fires in multi-story buildings.

Three videos of the fire from June 19, 2024, in Miami. "I did get a chance  to speak to one gentleman who tells me he was actually sleeping at the  time. He awoke not because he smelled the smoke, not because he heard the commotion, but because he heard a firefighter knocking at his front door. That's what prompted him to get up, get outside."

The Arcata Fire District sent a letter to the City, stating that the AFD cannot ensure the safety of people living in a building that is over 40 feet tall, which would be a three-story building. A subsequent letter requested that the earlier letter be provided to the Planning Commissioners. The Community Development Director David Loya did not do this. Instead he wrote a watered-down version as a summary, and created a summation that was not in the letter.

The Arcata Fire District wrote a letter that they wanted the Planning Commissioners to see. The Community Development Director did not send them the letter. Instead, he wrote a watered-down summary -- leaving out what is important, and adding in a summary that is not what the AFD said.

Reading time: 8 minutes -- It is my opinion that, given time, the AFD, the City of Arcata, and Cal Poly will find a solution to the Fire Protection issue. In this BRIEF article, a possible solution is offered so that taller buildings can be planned for in the Gateway area. **** WITH VIDEO from the August 22, 2023, City Council / Planning Commission joint study session.

Are California universities required to contribute funds for increased traffic, firefighting, wastewater capacity, and other costs caused by campus expansions? The answer is Yes, they are.

The Arcata Fire District will need a large increase in funding to provide fire and safety services to Arcata's new tall buildings. It is my expressed opinion -- not based on any conversations or any outside input; just based my own speculation -- that the State of California will come up with the money, both the up-front funds and the annual expenses. I say this for a very simple reason: That something has to be done, and the local taxpayers will be completely unwilling to take on theses costs.

Cal Poly Humboldt could be contributing a substantial amount to Arcata's costs for police, emergency services, infrastructure, and maintenance. Court cases have ruled that a local university should pay for their share of the costs resulting from university-oriented population.

Did UC Berkeley bring in more students than they'd promised? How much should the University contribute to infrastructure costs? And -- is any of this applicable to Cal Poly Humboldt and Arcata ?

An article from the Northcoast Journal from September 2022 concerning how the Arcata Fire District is not set up to provide fire and emergency protection in the taller buildings. ----- The proposed dorms are is not larger than the existing BSS building, but this does not mean that the dorms are safe. The AFD maintains that in the current staffing situation, neither the BSS building nor the dorms would be safe.  -------To say that it "will built to the highest degree of fire safety standards, including full concrete and steel structures with a full sprinkler system" doesn't help either. Fatalities come from smoke inhalation. In a regular living environment there is plenty that will smolder and burn: Carpet, bedding, clothing, books, furniture, etc. The firefighters aren't concerned with trying to save the building. They are concerned with trying to save lives.

*** A MUST-SEE VIDEO *** 2-minute 47-seconds by Eric Black, taken from the January 10, 2023, Planning Commission meeting. Eric Loudenslager of the Arcata Fire District Board of Directors spoke on how the AFD is unable to provide adequate fire protection and emergency services to the residents of a building over four stories -- and even a four-story building is a dicey situation. The AFD is saying that no more taller buildings should be built until this situation is conclusively resolved. *** A MUST-SEE VIDEO ***

3-minute video by Eric Black, dated February 1, 2023. The CSU Board of Trustees had met the week before to consider Cal Poly Humboldt's planned construction of the 6-story and 7-story off-campus dorms at the Craftsman's Mall site in Arcata. Despite the Arcata Fire District's strong disagreement with the Final Environmental Impact Report regarding their inability to provide fire protection at the dorms, the project was approved.

Selected articles on the Arcata Fire District and fire safety -- from the Mad River Union.