An Up-Close Look at the Colton Fire Department

On Saturday, May 10, the Colton Area Museum Association (CAM) will be having a special guest speaker for their bi-monthly meeting. Tim McHargue, Fire Chief for the Colton Fire Department (CFD) will be presenting an inside look into the history, the present and visions for the future. Under Chief McHargue’s leadership, new programs, techniques, training methods, and “cutting edge” philosophy are quickly becoming synonymous with both emergency, and non-emergency service provided by the CFD. His presentation will be informative and engaging, and as usual, with Chief McHargue, questions are always in order. Fire Chief McHargue’s fire experience began in 1988 when he worked as a paid call firefighter in Grand Terrace. He graduated from the 18th Crafton Hills College Fire Academy, and then moved to Georgia, where he completed his paramedic training with Clayton County Fire. He worked for the Clayton County Fire Department in Riverdale, Georgia as a Firefighter EMT-Paramedic. After moving back to California, Chief McHargue worked for Cathedral City Fire as a Firefighter Paramedic, and later promoted to Captain. He was hired as a Battalion Chief with Colton in 2002, and promoted to Fire Chief in 2012. Chief McHargue obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Fire Administration from Cogswell Polytechnical College, and is a graduate of the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland. He is also a Division Supervisor on a Type-II Federal Incident Management Team with the US Forest Service. The CAM Association May 10 meeting starts at 2 p.m. in the Learning Center, and is open to the public. The address is 380 N. La Cadena. Regular CAM hours are Wednesdays and Fridays 1 to 4 p.m., and on Saturdays 11 a.m.-2 p.m. For more information about the guest speaker program or the CAM, contact the Colton Museum at 909-824-8814, or Dr. G at 909-213-3730.