Santa Barbara County 911 dispatchers will now handle emergency calls in a new facility that has been years in the making. The Regional Fire Communications Center and expanded Emergency Operations Center are a beautiful, state-of-the-art complex.
But more importantly, it’s part of a significant change in the way some of the county’s first responders operate. For years, if you made a 911 call for a fire or emergency medical services, you believed that the closest fire truck or ambulance would head your way.
That wasn’t always the case. The unit that actually responded was usually the closest one belonging to the agency serving that jurisdiction.
"Fire departments work with their jurisdictions, and those in the past have been hard lines," explained Santa Barbara Fire Chief Chris Mailes. "We would run up to the city border, and the county (Santa Barbara County) would run up to the county border.
But Mailes said under the change, they are using technology to get the closest first responders to an incident, regardless of the jurisdiction.
"What we're doing with this regional center truly defines regional communications. It doesn't matter what the incident is. The fire apparatus is equipped with GPS, and whoever is closest by GPS handles the call, regardless of jurisdiction."
It took considerable wrangling and financial negotiations to get all eight local agencies that provide fire and emergency medical services in the county on board. Key to the streamlined process is the new centralized dispatch system.
"Every fire, rescue, and EMS unit in the county now has an iPad screen that shows where the emergency is, and where every resource is," said Mark Hartwig, who is a proponent of the new system. He was Santa Barbara County’s Fire Chief for six years, and just retired after three decades as a first responder.
"It's a little embarrassing to say that we're just now there, but the nice part is we are there. The public never noticed it because they probably thought this was always happening this way."
"This is something that should have happened a long time ago...now, you're going to get the closest available resource."Former Santa Barbara County Supervisor Das Williams
The new communications center has been online since May. But Tuesday morning, Santa Barbara County leaders, along with officials from the county’s seven local fire departments, and American Medical Response gathered to celebrate the nearly $18 million project’s completion.
"This is something that should have happened a long time ago, but it's incredibly exciting to see," said former Santa Barbara County Supervisor Das Williams, one of the project’s supporters. "It creates the 911 response system that people think is already out there. Now, you're going to get the closest available resource."
The project also includes an expansion of the County’s Emergency Operations Center, which was already on the site near Cathedral Oaks Road in Santa Barbara.
"We appreciate having fire communications here, because that means we can just step across the hall and ask questions about a fire response that we might be helping to coordinate," said Kelly Hubbard, director of the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management. She added that the co-located facilities will streamline the response to disasters, such as a major wildfire or a powerful storm.
Officials say the most crucial aspect of the project is reduced emergency response times, which could ultimately save lives.
