Arcata Fire Chief Stepping Down

Arcata Fire District Chief Desmond Cowan [Photo from Arcata Fire’s Facebook page.]

Arcata Fire District Chief Desmond Cowan announced at last night’s regularly scheduled Board meeting that he will be stepping down from the position of Fire Chief at the end of this coming June. According to Cowan, “I’ve given this a lot of thought and consideration and this is the right time to hand over the department to a new leader and allow me to spend more time with my family as well as continuing to work in this great community.”

Cowan noted that he has served for 25 years with the Arcata Fire District after starting his career with CalFire in 1986. “I’m very proud of the many accomplishments we have made in the last few years. The Arcata Station is complete, the McKinleyville station is under way, and we’ve made numerous improvements to the way we operate.”

Board Chair Linda Sundberg said, “There is always an end to a good thing. Under Chief Cowan’s leadership, the districts goals have been met and we’ve had many positive accomplishments. Chief Cowan has been very committed to an organization that serves a very large sector of the Humboldt County community. Moving forward the Board of Directors will immediately launch the process of hiring a new Chief, to make the transition as seamless as possible for the District. We wish Chief Cowan and his family the best and thank him for his many years of service.”

The Board expects to have a new Chief in place before the start of the new fiscal year in July.