Subscriber Comments for
Montecito Fire Station 3

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 330704	2012-10-12 12:41 PM
Montecito Agricultural Foundation - is either Craig McCaw or the Valley Club. Id wager to say its McCaw.
COMMENT 330709	2012-10-12 01:00 PM
My issue with this is that it has not been that long since the last, brand new firehouse was built. When that one was built, there were no plans for another - i.e., it was supposed to be large enough to deal with much of Montecito. Now, with another station, we've got simply too much service available for not enough service needed. Firefighters are EXPENSIVE. Will the number of firefighters employed at existing stations be reduced to equalize supply and demand if this fire station is built? Or will taxpayers be stuck with the bill of employing more firefighters than we need?
COMMENT 330715P	2012-10-12 01:11 PM
Really? Did you read the article? Just about every sentence you wrote contradicts something written in the article.
COMMENT 330726P	2012-10-12 01:37 PM
It's hard to argue with Chip's assessments of the improvements a third fire station will provide to Montecito. The east end residents will certainly get quicker response times, and that is never a bad thing. The thing you need to be asking is, how many calls for service does the MFD respond to annually? (this is public information and is available) True emergencies, i.e., medical, traffic accident, fire, etc... not security gates malfunctioning, resetting burgular/fire alarms, bats in the attic, and the like. Now, divide the total number of calls by 365 days per year and you might be in for an interesting surprise.
COMMENT 330704	2012-10-12 01:47 PM
726P - Can you provide us with the answer to your question?
COMMENT 330740	2012-10-12 02:01 PM
What good is an extra fire station going to do? The article acknowleges the importance of rapid response but ground crew firefighters responded rapidly to the Tea and Jesuita fires and they were unable to put retardant on those fires for hours. In the last 5 years hundreds of homes have been lost to fires that were allowed to burn for hours or days before ground crews began to fight them. What good does it do for ground crews to respond to a fire a few minutes faster if they stand around for hours and watch it burn?
COMMENT 330789P	2012-10-12 04:19 PM
They still haven't explained why this station has to be larger than the main headquarters station. Chief Hickman says he needs a new station to have 5 minute response to the east end, but if you look at the plan, he doesn't intend to put a paramedic there because they can't afford it. So, how about having a smaller fire station and paying for a paramedic? That's who needs to get there quickly. How about having smaller trucks that can maneuver on Montecito's narrow roads, that cuts down response time too. Why does Montecito needs it's own training center, why not use the regional training center which is near East Beach in Santa Barbara - not very far from Montecito. I guess they feel they have money so why not spend it? Montecito Fire District's budget is $16 million or 2 stations, Santa Barbara City's budget is $22 million for 8 stations. Something just doesn't make sense.
COMMENT 330938	2012-10-13 11:07 AM
Spend then tax.
FLICKA	2012-10-13 11:16 AM
I believe the tax money to support the Montecito Fire district comes from Montecito. Santa Barbara is a whole different ballgame. Firemen saved my brother's house in the Jesusita. The Tea went with such lightening speed from the horiffic winds, a ground crew could have been toast in most cases. Basically, they get in to save the homes they safely can. And then, there are the individual house fires, not in a wildfire situation.
COMMENT 330973	2012-10-13 12:53 PM
Clearly you people can't read. The information indicates that the money for this project is already saved. They aren't trying to "tax later" and I don't recall ever seeing Montecito having extra taxes or assessments for fire protection. (Like we do in Santa Barbara). If Montecito residents want to continue complaining about the amount of money their FD has in their budget, I'd love to see them redistribute some of that money to my fire department ! We have to deal with CUTS and staff REDUCTIONS to our service, and here they are trying to INCREASE the services for their people...I guess the 1%ers are never happy.
COMMENT 331011P	2012-10-13 02:12 PM
I am not a fire official so have no idea if another station is needed in Montecito. But I do know there is a vacant 14 acre piece of land on San Antonio Creek Rd in the county. Over here in our high fire hazard area we would welcome you with open arms! Id take fire station over subdivision any day....
COMMENT 331405	2012-10-15 07:48 AM
330789P: "They still haven't explained why this station has to be larger than the main station. "I would have to wonder if you are working with Craig McCaw and Joe Cole who are suing MFD over Station 3, because they bring these benign talking points up regularly. McCaw uses covers like these kinds of "Foundations" and "Trusts" so his name isn't associated with the real issue he has against the project - NIMBY. I am informed on the issue. (No, I do not work there, but I talk regularly with many people envolved) This issue has been discussed at SEVERAL meetings about the new station. The new fire station contains a training component that adds to the square footage of the project because the firefighters have no place in the district to train for many of the skills you expect them to have. If they didn't have the space or the funding to build this component into the facility, it might be worth questioning - but they DO have the space, and the funding for it IS ALREADY SET ASIDE.
COMMENT 331405	2012-10-15 08:32 AM
330789P: "How about having smaller trucks that can maneuver on Montecito's narrow roads, that cuts down response time too." The idea of having smaller engines might sound smarter for the tight roads that don't conform to State code requirements, but that won't help during a wildland fire when the rest of the fire engines coming from all over the state are normal sized fire engines. Additionally, a smaller engine would also have less room to store the equipment needed to fight fires in the larger 10,000-30,000 square foot mansions that are common place in Montecito.
COMMENT 331405	2012-10-15 10:42 AM
If the Montecito residents (and Board candidates) want to reduce the MFD operating budget, how about a little redistribution to the County for them to use in their underserved areas…SB City, and Carp/Summerland would probably love to have some of those funds too. Why do you insinuate they should cut their budget when cuts aren't needed and great service is provided? MFD works within the funds they are allotted. No extra fees, assessments or taxes. Just the 16% of the basic property tax they have been receiving since Prop. 13 was passed.

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