Even as a kid, Garrett Huff knew he wanted to be a firefighter.

Growing up in Simi Valley, he would spend his time near the local fire station helping firefighters with any chores they had.

“I grew up in a kind of a semi-rural neighborhood,” Huff said.  “There wasn’t a lot of kids, but there was a fire station down the street. I would literally ride my bike to the fire station and do whatever they would let me do, (even) if it was washing the engine.”

His interest in firefighting would lead him to join the Explorer Program with the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

Huff assumed the role of the new chief of the Santa Barbara County Fire Department following the retirement of Chief Mark Hartwig earlier this month.

Huff took the oath of office at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, surrounded by his family and his “fire family.” 

“It takes a village to raise a firefighter, or a fire chief, and I couldn’t have done this journey without anyone in this room,” he said.

Huff has been part of the SBCFD since 2005, initially serving as a firefighter/paramedic, and has served as the department’s deputy chief since February 2024. Huff was announced as the new chief on Nov. 7 and was approved by the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors on Nov. 18.

“After a nationwide search, I’m confident that Deputy Chief Huff will continue to lead the department in the right direction. He has proven leadership skills, solid fire experience and immense respect from myself, county leadership and the staff of the Fire Department,” said County Executive Officer Mona Miyasato.   

“He knows this department from the bottom to the top and has worked throughout the divisions of the department to have a full understanding of the work the department does and the responsibilities of a fire chief.”

Over his 20-year career with the SBCFD, Huff has worked in training, administration, emergency operations, fire prevention and dispatch. His roles have included division chief for EMS and Training, battalion chief and deputy fire marshal, fire captain and fire engineer/inspector.

“I’m very heavily involved in both the ambulance contract, in our training, from our academy to state fire training, classes, development.” Huff said. “All of those different things have led me to be well rounded for the fire chief position.”

Hartwig said he had full confidence that Huff is up to the task and said he expects him to excel in the role. He added that Huff is well-prepared for the role due to his time with the department.

Hartwig also praised Huff’s willingness to step up and take on tasks when needed. He said while most people were eager to be in the field smelling the smoke or fighting fire, Huff was always ready to take on other duties that benefit the department.

He continued by saying Huff has always been an integral player behind the scenes in the opening of the Regional Fire Communications Center, the community fire plan, and when the SBCFD attempted to bid for the ambulance contract.

“There really isn’t an aspect of this business that Garrett isn’t just intimately familiar with because he was on the sidelines, he was involved in it,” Hartwig said. “He was up to his elbows. He was rolling up his sleeves, and every bit as responsible for any success of this organization, at least in my time here, as I am.”

Huff says he plans to continue the work done by Chief Hartwig, whom he credits with improving emergency medical services, the department’s peer support and behavioral health systems and the Regional Fire Communications Center.

Huff said he also hopes to continue to improve the department’s use of the RFCC, which he says has helped make it easier for different agencies to respond to calls and communicate.

“It’s live, and it’s exciting because it’s knocked down all the walls and the barriers of all the different fire jurisdictions in the county,” Huff said. “We’re all operating as one kind of unit now, where we’re all in the same dispatch system.”

He said he plans to continue working with the different jurisdictions and find new ways to improve the collaboration between departments.

Other areas Huff wants to work on during his tenure are the county’s emergency medical system. He also has an interest in looking at county fire stations nearing the end of their operational life and building new ones.

“Next year is (the) 100-year anniversary of our department, and I think it’s going to be exciting because it’s going to be a year that we reflect on our past, and then we come up with vision for the future,” he said.

As of now, Huff splits his time between Santa Barbara and his family’s home in Templeton. Despite the distance, he says it has never been an issue, and he has been present for every major event, like the Lake Fire in 2024.

He even has a rollout bed in his office for when he is on duty and is staying in Santa Barbara.

“Through my whole career here, I’ve never lived here, and I’ve been to every major incident,” Huff said. “It’s never impacted my work. My family understands that I have an obligation here, and they support me.”

Looking ahead, Huff said he is excited to fill the role and looks forward to serving the community.

“It’s the honor of my life,” he said. “I feel a tremendous amount of support behind me, and I just want to do good.”