Tag archives: fire chief

As record-breaking wildfires affect millions of people across the state of California, we recently sat down with Montecito Fire Chief Kevin Taylor, who has been at the helm of the District for one year. From getting to know Chief Taylor and his family better, to learning about Montecito’s future fire and debris flow risk, we […]

Back in January, a standing-room-only crowd filled Montecito Union School’s auditorium for an update on what to expect this year in terms of both fire and rain. The message was exactly what residents were hoping to hear. First, a lower than average chance of the kind of rain events that could lead to another debris […]

A question one often hears in Montecito this summer involves home real estate values within the dreaded “red zone.” Those currently in the red zone, whose homes were untouched by the 1/9 debris flow, ask how can they have their homes removed from the punitive evacuation red zone. To better understand the “red zone” and […]

At a board meeting on Monday, June 24, the Montecito Fire Protection District Board of Directors appointed Division Chief of Operations Kevin Taylor as the next Fire Chief of the Montecito Fire Department. “I appreciate the faith and confidence the Board has placed in me to lead this fantastic organization,” Chief Taylor said to a […]

At a Montecito Fire Protection District board meeting last week, Montecito Fire Chief Chip Hickman announced his retirement in July. Before taking the role as Chief in 2012 as the successor of Fire Chief Kevin Wallace, Chief Hickman was a 21-year veteran of the MFPD, beginning his career in 1990 as one of the District’s […]

New York’s legendary St. Patrick’s Day parade was a triple celebration for Santa Barbara fire chief Pat McElroy. Pat was marking his 65th birthday, his retirement after 36 years, and his 26-year-old son, Brendan, becoming a full-fledged firefighter in San Diego. “It was quite the day!” says Pat, who jetted to the Big Apple with […]