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Santa Barbara Fire Department reports Q4 activity, mutual-aid deployments and new recruits
Summary
The Fire Department reported several structure fires, mutual-aid deployments to major wildfires, seven new firefighters added in December, Q4 turnout and travel times, training hours, and community outreach events.
Fire Chief Chris Mails and Division Chief Bridal Federman presented the Santa Barbara Fire Department’s quarter 4 report covering October–December 2024, noting multiple structure fires, mutual-aid deployments to the Eaton and Palisades incidents, and seven firefighters who graduated the department’s in-house academy on Dec. 19 and are now assigned to apparatus.
Federal and regional mutual aid deployments were described as ongoing for events that began in early January; chiefs said the department continues to staff resources on those incidents. Division Chief Federman reviewed incident response data: a steady 1–2% quarterly uptick in call volume, consistent travel times across the city, and an average turnout time in the low-80-second range. The department reported nearly 2,700 training hours devoted to the 10-week recruit academy and more than 2,400 hours of ongoing operational training for existing personnel.
Community outreach in Q4 included 22 events such as Toys for Tots, school safety presentations, and partnerships with Girls Inc. Chiefs emphasized readiness tools for the public: readySBC.org for official incident notifications and PulsePoint Respond (the correct PulsePoint app name) to view incident activity and nearby CPR/AED needs. The chiefs said PulsePoint displays approximate locations without showing exact house numbers for medical privacy reasons.
Staff also answered commissioner questions about mutual-aid deployment logistics and reimbursement: agencies are reimbursed for personnel and apparatus under state or federal agreements, and recent upgrades to the Mutual Aid Reimbursement System (MARS) have sped processing so reimbursement can arrive within days to weeks instead of months.
Commissioners asked about regional dispatch and the new NextGen 911 transition; chiefs said the regional dispatch building is complete but migration to the NextGen 911 system (a state-managed upgrade) is delaying the move-in, with an expected window for the radio/CAD/dispatch migration in spring 2025.
