California State Parks Issues Statement on Civil Lawsuit Against Bidwell Mansion Alarm Company
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Newsroom@parks.ca.gov
.jpg "Image of the severely damaged Bidwell Mansion after an arson fire on Dec. 11, 2024")
The Bidwell Mansion was severely damaged by an arson fire on Dec. 11, 2024. Photo from California State Parks.
CHICO — California State Parks today issued a statement after the department filed a civil lawsuit in Superior Court of Butte County against the alarm company for Bidwell Mansion State Historic Park at the time of the arson fire on Dec. 11, 2024.
Statement:
California State Parks filed a civil lawsuit yesterday, March 12, against Advantage Total Protection (ATP) for, among other things, failing to conduct a proper inspection and test when it first took over the fire and alarm monitoring contract for the Bidwell Mansion. In June 2024, State Parks moved to a new company, ATP, to take over the burglary and fire alarm systems at Bidwell Mansion. The lawsuit alleges that ATP failed to monitor the mansion as required and failed to ensure that the alarm system alerted authorities in the event of a fire. The lawsuit also alleges that ATP led State Parks to believe that it had conducted the required testing and that the system was operating as required. State Parks never had any indication that the fire alarm system would not work as designed in the event of a catastrophic fire. Because of these failures, fire authorities and State Parks were not timely notified of the arson at Bidwell Mansion in December 2024, leading to the nearly complete destruction of the historic property and the historic objects inside. State Parks is seeking $38 million in damages. The actual damages will be determined at trial.
As State Parks and the North State community continue to mourn the senseless destruction of the historic mansion, work to shape the future of the state historic park is underway. The department launched the Reimagine Bidwell Mansion project last fall, which includes opportunities for the community, stakeholders and tribal nations to engage in the planning effort. Just yesterday, State Parks released a new public survey that will help inform the development of the Reimagine Bidwell Mansion Vision Plan, and announced community workshops and pop-up events in Chico this spring. For the latest updates, visit ReimagineBidwellMansion.org.
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