Retirement was looking good for Alicia Welch. After more than 26 years in the Los Angeles Fire Department, she moved to Golden and was skiing, mountain biking, and was learning to play golf. Then she saw that the Golden Fire Department needed a new fire chief. Those golf clubs would have to be used on weekends. “Firefighting - it really is a calling - as cheesy as kind of that sounds, you’re called to it,” Welch said. “This profession isn’t where you just kind of get your gold watch and move on - it’s a part of you, it’s a lifestyle.”
Welch was sworn in on Monday morning and is now one of about 50 female fire chiefs in the country. It is a distinction that has brought her a lot of media attention - something she is not used to experiencing.