Anonymous
Source: Santa Barbara County Fire Department
The Santa Barbra County Fire Department is proud to announce that the departmentwide station conversion to ALS will be complete on July 1, 2022, at 0800. Every engine company in our department will provide continuous Advanced Life Support (ALS)-level prehospital medical care.
The Santa Barbara County Fire Department has been providing ALS service to the community for 49 years. In 1973, we were one of the first fire departments in the State of California to train Firefighter/Paramedics. Seven Firefighters went through the initial paramedic program at Goleta Valley Hospital. In 1974, we placed our first paramedic unit, Rescue 11, into service. Since then, we have methodically expanded our services departmentwide.
Today we have over eighty practicing paramedics throughout the ranks of Firefighter, Engineer, and Captain. This is a monumental occasion to have 16 ALS fire stations, three ALS fire department ambulances, and a seasonal ALS helicopter crewmember serving the citizens of the County of Santa Barbara.
So does this compound and extend the conflict between firefighters and the EMT providers? It is bizarre to watch both agencies competing for the same victim.