As Chief Mark Hartwig nears his retirement, he is reluctant to take credit for any of the accomplishments that have occurred during his time leading the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.

“I don’t take credit for anything that happened while I was here,” Hartwig said. “I like to say I was responsible for saying yes and signing checks.”

Hartwig joined the department in 2019 after serving as the fire chief for San Bernardino, where he began his career in 1992. He also worked as a battalion chief and deputy chief for the Rancho Cucamonga Fire District.

Since arriving in Santa Barbara County, Hartwig said he has tried to ask questions to see if an idea is worth pursuing and empower his staff with the tools they need to see it done.

One of his jobs as chief, he said, was to develop a team that could kick him out one day and take the reins of the department when he’s gone. He also wanted to leave the department with a strong financial standing.

He helped manage the responses to several major wildfires, including the recent Lake Fire, Madre Fire and Gifford Fire.

His tenure as chief saw major initiatives, including opening the regional dispatch center that consolidates fire and emergency medical service calls; the department’s failed attempt to take over the county ambulance services contract; and gaining oversight of the Office of Emergency Management (OEM).  

When the county’s contract with ambulance services provider American Medical Response ended, Hartwig decided to have the fire department compete for the new contract. The department even purchased 35 ambulances to make it more competitive for the bid.

After a series of decisions by the Board of Supervisors, County Fire was awarded the contract. However, AMR sued the county over the decision and reached a settlement granting it a 4-year contract providing ambulance services for most areas.

County Fire had the option to be the provider for other parts of the county, but later passed on the offer.

At the time, Hartwig said the decision to pass on the offer was because the areas it was granted to were not busy enough to be profitable and justify the cost.

Hartwig said the decision to compete for the ambulance service contract stemmed from a desire to fix discrepancies that he and others saw in the current service.

Even though the plan did not work out in the department’s favor, Hartwig said that he is heartened by the fact that the county supervisors chose the fire department and had extended an offer to AMR due to the lawsuit.

“I can tell you that the service that we have today, and in my opinion, is no better than the service we had when we started the process,” Hartwig said.

He said he hopes that when the current contract is over, the department can try again, and the community will have the “service that they deserve to have.”  

AMR’s current contract includes additional services beyond the pre-bidding contract, and the company maintains that it meets response-time standards and other performance metrics.

The county plans to sell the unused ambulances it purchased for the possibility of County Fire becoming a larger provider.

New Dispatch Center

One of the other major initiatives Hartwig took on during his time as chief was the development of the Regional Fire Communications Center (RFCC), which now serves as the centralized dispatch center for countywide fire and emergency medical services.

The goal of the center was to create a borderless dispatch that would send the nearest appropriate team to an emergency regardless of what agency they work for.

“I like to say it’s the biggest change in the way we do business on the fire rescue and EMS side, probably in 50 years in the county,” Hartwig said.

Even though residents may not be aware of the change, he said that it does impact them as a community, and most would probably be surprised that this is not how it worked before.

The facility officially opened in May, after the project overcame many hurdles. The building was originally scheduled to open in July 2024.

Hartwig said one of the project’s challenges was the learning curve of the new technology. The county wanted to hire a local contractor for the project to support local businesses.

Although the contractor was experienced in building schools and other facilities, the different technology and design for the RFCC took them some time to understand, according to Hartwig.

Weather issues also caused a delay in construction.

Hartwig said the biggest challenge in opening the RFCC was the new wireless 9-1-1 system that was required by the state. While previous systems used copper wires, the new system used the cloud.

However, when vendors installed the system, it would not work. The issues extended the project by about six months.

“We would put it through beta testing, of course,” he said. “The most important part is that when it finally goes live in the center, that it works. And then it wasn’t working.”

Despite the challenges, County Executive Officer Mona Miyasato credits Hartwig for getting the project across the finish line. She also praised him for his work in building relationships with fire chiefs in other districts and helping bring them under one roof.

“I think that is something he can be really proud of,” Miyasato said. “And we’re really grateful for him being here at that time when we got the RFCC actually implemented and going.”

OEM Oversight

Hartwig said the reasoning for bringing OEM under County Fire management is due to the similar missions of both departments.

“They saw it as a way for us to come together more cohesively,” Hartwig said.  “Whether it’s planning and support coordination for COVID, or if it’s for flooding or fires.”

Hartwig explained that the purpose of the OEM is to help coordinate the county with other local agencies, such as the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, other county departments, and other leaders to plan before a major event.

One example he gave was the recent storms that hit Santa Barbara. Before the weather hit, different agencies discussed potential risks and what different agencies would need, such as staffing.  

The department was originally part of the County Executive Office, run by Miyasato. She still oversees the OEM during an emergency, but the new alignment apparently helped with the day-to-day functions of the office.

Miyasato said that Hartwig’s former experience helped with the transition, as his former job in San Bernardino had a similar system.

“He welcomed it,” Miyasato said. “And he really tried to integrate that team into the larger fire organization (…) to make better decisions, be better prepared for emergencies, and to just include that team into his team.”

Fire Agency Leadership

Deputy Chief Garrett Huff, who will be the new chief beginning in December, also praised Hartwig’s efforts in working with others. Huff said other chiefs have worked to build good bonds with other departments, but Hartwig improved on them.

“The egos kind of went away, and it took a lot of work,” Huff said. “I know that they meet regularly, and they’re all a pretty close group of people, but I would say, in my opinion, that’s his biggest accomplishment.”

Huff also said Hartwig pushed emergency medical services to the forefront during his tenure by expanding advanced life support with paramedics at every county fire station.

“Now, no matter where you are in the county area, you’re going to get a paramedic when you call 9-1-1, and that’s Chief Hartwig,” Huff said.

Chief David Neels of the Montecito Fire Department has been working alongside Hartwig since 2019. He said that Hartwig cherishes strong relationships, and he has worked to build them with other departments during his time in Santa Barbara.

“Mark is one of those individuals that has a presence about him when he comes into a room,” Neels said. “But what I think is one of his strongest strengths is his ability to listen to people.”

Neels added that Hartwig’s sense of humor was also comforting in trying times.

“In our job, there are so many times where what we do in this profession can be heart wrenching, heartbreaking, and it’s a challenge,” he said. “Having somebody who has a sense of humor is often a comforting factor in regards to growing closer to somebody.”

As Hartwig prepares to retire in early December, he said the feeling is surreal. He has been in community service for most of his life. However, he looks forward to spending time with his family.

He and his wife plan to move back to Rancho Cucamonga, where their children live, and spend time with their first grandchild.

“I missed out in my career,” Hartwig said. “I missed out on so much working shift work and then working extra shifts. Then moving to staff assignments and working late and working projects and going on trips.

“It just that’s time for me to reinvest back with them.”