You might not notice until you call for help, but the transition of Santa Maria's Fire Department's dispatch to Santa Barbara County's Regional Fire Communication Center is a step forward in modernizing the service.
That's according to Santa María Fire Chief Brad Dandridge.
"There's going to be a more timely, more efficient response to fires, to medical aids, to any emergency that is required at the fire service," he told KCLU.
The partnership comes with the agencies dropping jurisdictional boundaries, meaning that the closest, most appropriate apparatus will be dispatched, making faster deployment possible.
"We essentially run the fire departments in Santa Barbara County as one large fire department, benefiting our communities by sending the closest, most appropriate resource, regardless of jurisdiction, to whatever emergency is called," explained Dandridge.
All of the county's agencies have now made the same dispatch transition.
