Manson Fire Chief Arnold Baker to retire after 40 years of service

Manson Fire Chief Arnold Baker.

Manson Fire Chief Arnold Baker has announced his retirement.

At the end of July, Chief Baker completes four decades with the fire agency, 28 years as chief.

"I started when I was 27, so I'll get my 40 years in, it's just about time to pull the pin," Chief Baker said in talking with KOZI about his pending retirement. "We've had some notable incidents of wildfires and other things, cows jumping on cars. It's been a pleasure to serve the community of Manson and Lake Chelan."

Chief Baker announced his retirement in an email to Fire District 5 firefighters.

"It was very difficult," the chief shared. "I wanted to provide transparency. I wanted to say, okay, here's the real story. Everybody gets to hear the real story. The timing, I just wanted to accomplish more while I was there."

I wanted to change the culture in order to build the volunteer system that was going to be necessary and we have done that, we've done that very successfully and that's something to be very proud of," Chief Baker said in recollection of the many firefighting improvements that have occurred in Manson Fire District 5 during his leadership. "We can not only take care of home but we can help our neighbors with a quality response and take care of our community."

Fire District 5 Commission Chair Chris Willoughby wholeheartedly agreed.

"We have probably what we consider one of the better, if not best, volunteer programs in the region because of what he's done to lead us in that direction," said Willoughby. "We have a culture that was more or less built by Chief Baker to continue on and that's one thing we wanna do, wanna maintain our culture and our focus on the firefighters, the volunteers of the community."

Willoughby said the fire district's strategic planning included the decision to hire a deputy fire chief.

"We moved from a three member board to a five member board, which has given us a lot more insight on to what the district needs may be into the future and how to implement those needs," added Willoughby. "It's leading us into a new direction."

The fire commission chairman said a levy, approved by voters in 2024, will result in the delivery of a new fire engine by the end of 2026. An additional focus, said Willoughby, is obtaining outside funding for the build out of station 52, a training facility  off Wapata Lake Road.

Willloughby added that a consultant will likely be brought in to help with the selection of a successor to Chief Baker.

Chief Baker wrote in his email that his last day is July 31, 2026.

"I want to go hiking, go fishing, get out and do more travelling, enjoying the outdoors," Baker shared. "The people of Manson will see me out walking. We will find plenty of things to fill the day."