Fire Chief Darren O’Brien said there are still many opportunities for the community to learn as much as possible about the project and he hopes people will take time to view online information and videos that show the plan, its cost, and how the town will pay for the upgrades and improvements if approved by voters at the polls.  

A warrant article will appear on the town ballot March 13, asking voters to approve $6.4 million to make improvements to the station. A 60 percent approval vote is required to pass this article.

Chief Tim Brown says a citizen called him early this morning after they saw two of his department's trucks off the side of Hwy 171. Brown says he found someone had forced their way into the department, loaded up one of the fire trucks with supplies, then left the trucks stuck on the side of the road. Wreckers had to retrieve the vehicles. They were driven back to the station, but the extent of the damage to them was unclear Tuesday morning. Brown says until the investigation is complete, his department has no equipment to serve the community. He says his department has been the victim of attempted burglaries before, but nothing like this.

The city received the grant again in 2014, and it funded 13 positions but did not cover overtime, equipment or hiring costs that had previously been covered by the first grant, according to a city staff report.  

Conflict arose in May 2017 when the grant funding dried out, and instead of reapplying months earlier, the city reverted to its plan to eliminate Engine 4, according to the staff report. Doing so would save the city an estimated $1.56 million per year, according to a staff report to the council.

The city and the West Covina Firefighters’ Association could not agree on a new staffing model — the city had proposed eliminating six vacant positions and demoting three captains and three engineers — so the two sides entered arbitration with the California Public Employment Relations Board.

HFD said the new engine was made in Pennsylvania and is being driven across the country to a port on the West Coast to be shipped to Oahu.