The city of Santa Maria also spends approximately 50 percent less than the Santa Barbara County and San Luis Obispo Counties' average. The increase in population and square mileage has meant firefighters have had to increase their already full workload. We don't mind hustling all day and night. New senior living homes and retirement centers built recently have also increased the call volume. Emergency medical calls such as heart attacks which are frequent in senior homes, are the majority of the department's calls.
Firefighters are most concerned about saving lives on individual calls.
The study In 1997, firefighters took their concerns to the city council who was thendrafting the 1998-00 budget. According to City Manager Tim Ness, the council said that before money could be set aside for additional stations, the fire department had to determine exactly how much of the city they covered and how well they covered it. As a result, in March of 1998, Santa Maria's Fire Department was the focus of a week-long study conducted at the fire academy in Pacific Grove to determine their ability to respond to calls. Participants of the study included Ness and Santa Maria Fire Chief Frank Ortiz, along with 44 fire professionals from the International City Managers Association, the International Fire Chiefs Association, the California State Board of Fire Services, and the California State Fire Marshal. The study measured the fire department's efficiency in responding to a call within five minutes.