Representatives from each fire department across the county spoke Monday afternoon in support of the Santa Barbara County Fire Department’s proposal to provide exclusive ambulance services in Santa Barbara County.

Both the county Fire Department and American Medical Response submitted proposals for the contract.

When the evaluation panel recommended awarding the contract to AMR — which has been providing ambulance services in the county for about 50 years — county Fire Chief Mark Hartwig filed a protest.

The protest was denied by the county’s procurement officer, leading Hartwig to file an appeal that was also denied in February.

“The plan that County Fire has developed is a more robust system with more ambulances on the street. It would be accountable to the community, absolutely transparent to the community,” said City of Santa Barbara Fire Chief Chris Mailes.

“You might hear (people say) that it’s incredibly complex — it’s not. It’s not incredibly complex. Your firefighters all over the county respond to EMS calls every single day. The only thing we’re adding into the system under the fire department umbrella is the transport. … It would just simply be a win for the community.”

Mailes also mentioned County Fire’s plans to reinvest revenue into the community and the system — including through projects such as co-response teams that would put social workers in vehicles alongside paramedics, or mentoring programs to identify and help local children interested in EMS careers.

Santa Barbara Mayor Randy Rowse and Goleta City Councilwoman Luz Reyes-Martín also showed their support for County Fire on Monday.

The Goleta City Council already passed a resolution last month expressing their preference for County Fire to be awarded the contract.

“This is one of the first times in history where the fire chiefs from all the departments are on the same page,” Rowse said. “(AMR) is a big company, and they’re not based in California, and so if we can keep all these resources and everything here, it’s going to be so much better.”

Rowse also cited County Fire’s responses to local disasters in the last few years as a testament to its service.

The “Faster 9-1-1 for Santa Barbara County” website has also been set up to garner support and apply pressure towards County Fire being awarded the ambulance services contract.

The website says that the “current ambulance response system is unacceptable,” citing delayed response, no fiscal accountability, and putting profits over performance.

In addition to saying a County Fire coalition model would provide faster response, higher-quality services, and more, the website also encourages people to contact members of the Board of Supervisors.

The supervisors will be discussing the issue at their next meeting on April 4.

“We have initiated and completed a comprehensive (request for proposals) process that followed all proper procedures and processes,” said county Communications Manager Kelsey Gerckens Buttitta. “At this point, the next step is to present our results and options before the board to provide staff with direction on which path to take in order to provide the best for our community.”

She added that negotiations have not begun with either American Medical Response or the county Fire Department.