Santa Barbara County Fire agencies renumbering

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Kingscup

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Last year, Santa Barbara county area fire chiefs came together to start the process of renumbering all radio designators from the fire chief to the utility pick up. Even AMR unit numbers are being changed. The link below gives you extensive info on the changes but if you don’t want to read the whole thing, I’ll give you the cliff notes.

Each agency has been assigned a block of numbers so not to have duplicate numbering.

i. Santa Maria FD: 1-9
ii. Santa Barbara County FPO: 10-39
iii. Vandenberg FD: 40-49
iv. Lompoc FD: 50-59
v. Carpinteria-Surnmerland FPO: 60-69
vi. Santa Barbara City FD: 70-79
vii. Guadalupe FD: 80-89
viii. Montecito FPO: 90-99

Example: SBFD engine 6 will become engine 76. Reserve engine will become engine 176 (100 series). Type 3 and 6 engines will have the 300 and 600 series numbers respectively. Battalion chiefs will become battalion 71/72/73.

AMR will be changed to the 800 series.

 

ko6jw_2

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This is not the first renumbering done by the fire departments in Santa Barbara County. Many years ago they went to a sort of CalFire numbering system where, for example, Engine 13 became 5413. This didn't last very long. I don't remember what size committee was needed for that change.

I wonder what the City of Santa Barbara will do with the very expensive computerized dispatching system they just put in operation? Scrap it? Get everyone else on board? We'll see. It required a huge programming effort to record and store a human voice with all streets in the city. It seems to work well for dispatching, but it still requires human dispatchers for the rest of the call. At least they did away with the old tone out system.

As for the rest of the county we'll have to see what happens. Santa Maria is already on their digital encrypted 700Mhz trunked system. There was an experiment with the county dispatching the Carpinteria-Summerland fire calls. Failed and was quietly dropped.

I also wonder how the radio frequencies will be coordinated. The county fire radio system suffers from phase distortion due to simulcasting and does not cover some areas as well as it should.

Santa Barbara County is also considering transferring their Office of Emergency Management to the fire department. Hugely bad idea. Oh well, no experiment is ever a complete failure, it can always be used as a bad example later on.
 

Kingscup

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This is not the first renumbering done by the fire departments in Santa Barbara County. Many years ago they went to a sort of CalFire numbering system where, for example, Engine 13 became 5413. This didn't last very long. I don't remember what size committee was needed for that change.

I do remember that era. Truck 11 was 5711. Rescue 11 and the ambulances were 58##. 59## were specialized equipment like crash 12, and the type 3 engines? Not sure on that.

I could never confirm if numbering was changed to follow CAL FIRE since SLU was 53##. I did hear once that it could have been changed to follow some sort of OES numbering since supposedly, SBC was in region 5 at the time?
 

code3cowboy

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This happened 20 years ago in SLO county. SLO City threw it by the wind, Five Cities kinda does it, and everyone else has stuck with it.

AMR changing unit numbers? Try getting their hires to use the radio without whispering into it, cleaning maintain equipment and the like.
 

KK6ZTE

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Since Five Cities is now dispatched by County, they—like everyone other than SLO—use their assigned apparatus ID.
Interestingly, SLO does use 9150 for their USAR trailer.

According to sources within AMR, they aren’t going to change their IDs.

However, this should get interesting as there is definitely friction between SBC’s Firefighter (“paramedics”) and AMR’s Paramedics. It seems County wants to do it all and kick AMR out. However, that would require SBC’s “paramedics” to do medical calls instead of cancelling as soon as calls drop to code 2
 

code3cowboy

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Speaking of interoperability, is that old SMAT bus AMR has anywhere closer to being in service than it was 10 years ago? In the back of Station 8.

There was supposed to be an Incident Dispatcher/ICS post behind the driver seat.
 

KK6ZTE

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It’s not at Station 8 (unless it’s hidden or they moved it). I’ve spent plenty of time there and haven’t seen it. They do have the OES MCI rig there though.
 
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ChrisE_STB

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It’s not at Station 8 (unless it’s hidden or they moved it). I’ve spent plenty of time there and haven’t seen it. They do have the OES MCI rig there though.

If you are referring to the SRU (Special Response Unit) That used to be at 5s, it belongs to the City, it is not a OES resource at all.
 

ChrisE_STB

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Since Five Cities is now dispatched by County, they—like everyone other than SLO—use their assigned apparatus ID.
Interestingly, SLO does use 9150 for their USAR trailer.

According to sources within AMR, they aren’t going to change their IDs.

However, this should get interesting as there is definitely friction between SBC’s Firefighter (“paramedics”) and AMR’s Paramedics. It seems County wants to do it all and kick AMR out. However, that would require SBC’s “paramedics” to do medical calls instead of cancelling as soon as calls drop to code 2


They just cant "Kick" AMR out. The ALS Ambulance service is on a contract, that is about to expire, and the count is exploring the option to do as LAFD has and have their own ALS Ambulances and not go with a private provider.
 

KK6ZTE

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Semantics. Not renewing the contract is essentially kicking them to the curb. Not saying that AMR is the greatest service provider, but County has enough big ideas going on and they don't even have reliable communications.

I'm talking about the Ford rig at Station 8.
 

ChrisE_STB

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Semantics. Not renewing the contract is essentially kicking them to the curb. Not saying that AMR is the greatest service provider, but County has enough big ideas going on and they don't even have reliable communications.

I'm talking about the Ford rig at Station 8.

The Ford F550 is a city asset, city owned, city maintained.

80645
 

KK6ZTE

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I don’t see anywhere I’ve mentioned Santa Barbara City Fire.

I was talking AMR at their Station 8 (near SMX airport).
 

ChrisE_STB

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I don’t see anywhere I’ve mentioned Santa Barbara City Fire.

I was talking AMR at their Station 8 (near SMX airport).

I apologize, Station 8 to me is STB Station 8 at the airport. With the Ford MCI unit
 
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KK6ZTE

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I think this highlights why this numbering change was so important.

There needs to be good apparatus number coordination and disambiguation.

Though, what are the odds that both Station 8's had Ford MCI units?
 

code3cowboy

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Twas on the west side along the wall, inside the bay. Speaking of, is the old MHAT rig still there? I found a need for it.
 
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