Santa Barbara Fire Department

The Santa Barbara City Fire Department (SBFD) is the agency that provides fire protection and basic life support (BLS) emergency medical services for the city of Santa Barbara. Not to be confused with Santa Barbara County Fire Department which serves county residents.

Type 1 Engine
Santa Barbara has a total of 11 pumper engines with 7 acting as frontline engines and an additional 4 in reserve. These engines are staffed by 3 personnel, A captain, an engineer and a firefighter. Each engine is fitted with a 1500 GPM pump and carries 750 gallons of water.

Type 3 Engine
The Type 3 Engines, which are used mainly for vegetation fires, are smaller than the Type 1s which are used primarily in the city. The Type 3 has 4x4 capability and can thus make it through rough terrain. One of the features that makes the Type 3 ideal for vegetation fires is that it can pump water while in motion, whereas the Type 1 engine must be put into park to pump. This allows the Type 3 to make "mobile attacks" on vegetation fires, a tactic that can help minimize the rate of spread. This is most commonly done by having a firefighter walk the edge of a fire with a hose line and the Type 3 trailing close behind, but spray nozzles can also be fitted to the bumper and under-carriage of the engine. Each of the engines feature a 500-gallon water tank and a 20-gallon tank for Class A foam. In September 2013, the SBFD bought a second $400,000 Type 3 Engine and placed it at station 7, moving the older Type 3 to station 4.

Special Response Unit
The Special Response Unit is a box van that contains supplies for a Mass Casualty Incident (MCI). It is dispatched automatically to any reported aircraft emergency on or off the airport property, as well as by request of any incident IC.

Heavy Rescue
In March 2006, the SBFD acquired a $450,000 Heavy Rescue unit built by SVI Trucks. At over 33 feet long, the Heavy Rescue weighs 44,000 pounds fully loaded. The interior has seating for six people as well as storage for all the tools necessary. The vehicle also has foldout awnings on both sides.

Airport Foam Engines
Station 8, located at the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport, which was previously under the jurisdiction of Santa Barbara County Fire and was later annexed into the City of Santa Barbara, is home to 3 Oshkosh Striker vehicles. Responding to approximately 65 calls per year, each of these engines is fitted with a 1500 GPM pump, carry 1500 gallons water, 210 gallons of foam concentrate, and 450 pounds of dry chemical or Halotron.