SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) - Santa Barbara County has fully launched its new Regional Fire Communications Center and expansion of the Emergency Operations Center.
The upgraded facility centralizes fire and EMS dispatch for seven local fire agencies. There are five dispatchers on duty with a supervisor for every shift.
They will handle all calls for the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, Carpinteria-Summerland Fire Protection District, Santa Barbara City Fire Department, Montecito Fire Protection District, Lompoc Fire Department, Guadalupe Fire Department, and Santa Maria Fire Department and the American Medical Response (AMR).
This also expands the Emergency Operations Center, to include a new Joint Information Center and Call Center, which is activated in large scale emergencies such as wildland fires and earthquakes. This puts the key players on the same property.
The site will support 911 calls for service coming in and emergency responders on the move.
The key feature is the ability to see where all engines and AMR vehicles are located, even if they are not in their district for whatever reasons, and then dispatch that resource to the emergency.
Already it has been an active center since it gradually began opening in June.
There have been 32,000 calls and 64,000 dispatches for emergency equipment.
That includes assistance for bystander CPR and the delivery of two babies.
Retired County Fire Chief Mark Hartwig said "what we created here is historic."
President of the Fire Chiefs Association of Santa Barbara County and the Fire Chief for the Montecito Fire Department, David Neels said, the multi-year process to complete the project took an "Unwavering support from city council and the Board of Supervisors," both political and financial. He called the building "state of the art."
Neels also said that "seconds matter" in an emergency and the public will be getting those seconds back with this new collaboration.
Office of Emergency Management (OEM) Director Kelly Hubbard says the new building is completely linked internally for all the services that come out of that location. OEM will activate its staff of department heads, resource coordinators, and partners such as utility companies in the event of an emergency.
All the key areas will have video monitors to follow camera shots, emergency scenes, local news reports, county real-time data such as river flows and other critical information.
(More details, photos and video will be added here later today.)
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GROVER BEACH, Calif. (KEYT) - The Grover Beach Planning Commission is reviewing pre-application for a new development, proposed for the city’s west end.
Some locals say they don’t want it.
Some residents voiced their opposition to a proposed development on front street at Monday night's Grover Beach City Council meeting.
“My concern is really just I'm getting a an overview of all the new development and the lack of apparent traffic control that has been associated with it,” said Stephen Brame, a resident of Grover Beach.
They claim some recent developments did not account for additional community parking and traffic problems.
“My wife and I were trying to get on Fourth Street today for about 20, 25 cars, and that's now—it's going to get worse then,” said Randy Fiser, who lives In Grover Beach.
Long-time residents are concerned a proposed development here at Front Street will cut into the skyline, continue to increase traffic issues and take away Grover Beach's small town feel.
“There are some scenic views there that we, the public, have a right to so I hope you consider that,” says Tim Sudiacal, another resident of Grover Beach. “We are for progression in this city and that includes more housing but it's the height that we're concerned about.”
Some residents also expressed concerns about how these developments intend to bring more wealth into Grover Beach, and how it can be sustained in the years ahead.
“The proposed project at 359 Front Street is just a pre application at this point,” says Matthew Bronson, Grover Beach’s City Manager. “And the process is shaped by voices that come forward from the community. The proposed development would lead to 36 new housing units on that site, along with about 3000 square feet of commercial space in a mixed use development that's allowed under that particular zoning area.”
The developer will submit their application in early 2026, to be heard by the Planning Commission later in the year.
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SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) - An annual toy drive held each year by Good Samaritan Shelter to benefit children who are clients of the Santa Barbara County-based non-profit organization is now underway.
"We're super excited," said Kirsten Cahoon, Good Samaritan Shelter Homeless Services Director. "It's our fourth annual toy drive. We're collecting toys for all the kiddos that live within the programs of Good Sam. We have over 100 kids that we are having to provide Christmas for this year, so we are really excited about the community coming out and showing up and making sure that we can give these kids an amazing Christmas."
The ongoing event concludes next Thursday, Dec. 18 with an all-day collection drive that will be held at Stowasser Buick GMC in Santa Maria from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
"Stowasser has barrels," said Cahoon. "They're the collection point. You can go by and drop off any time. They're an amazing partner that helps us with this every year, and really, their heart for the kids that live at Good Sam is just truly amazing."
Good Samaritan is asking for unwrapped toys, clothes or other basic necessities for kids of all ages.
"We're looking for any toys," said Cahoon. "Gift cards as well. We have a lot of teenagers in the programs. Quite a few newborns, so baby toys, and gift cards are great for the teenagers. They love gift cards to fast food, to stores, to the movie theater. You can also drop off cash donations, and that'll help us kind of fill the gap when we realize what toys are still needed for what age group."
All donations that are received will remain in Santa Barbara County and will directly benefit kids staying within Good Samaritan Shelter locations.
"The only shelters we have that take kids are between Santa Maria and Lompoc," said Cahoon. "We have shelters in Santa Maria in our family shelter. The same in Lompoc. We have our Lompoc Bridgehouse Shelter and two family shelters. And then we also have Project Preemie, where we have moms that are either pregnant or just had little ones and are trying to go through the recovery process. We want to make sure that we can give to all of those. These things are super important to us to make sure that the parents feel like normal parents so they have something to give."
For more information about Good Samaritan Shelter, click here.
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