Santa Cruz Fire Department Services

Fire suppression and emergency medical response to the campus is provided by the Santa Cruz Fire Department (SCFD) under under the Agreement for Fire Protection and Emergency Response Services between UC Santa Cruz and the City of Santa Cruz. The Director of Emergency Management is responsible for managing this contract for the campus and serves as the primary liaison with SCFD.

Fire Response

SCFD staffs a Type 1 fire engine at the campus fire station (Station 4) located on Chinquapin Road across from the Crown/Merrill Apartments and Crown College. Additional SCFD and other mutual aid units respond as needed based on the nature of the incident. There is also a Type 3 wildland fire engine at the campus fire station which is cross-staffed for fires in the undeveloped areas of campus as well as throughout the county. 

Emergency Medical Response

SCFD staffs at least one paramedic on each fire engine to provide immediate advanced life support (ALS) level care for medical emergencies. Ambulance transport for all of Santa Cruz County is provided by American Medical Response (AMR), a private ambulance company under contract with the Santa Cruz County EMS Agency. All AMR ambulances in Santa Cruz County are ALS units with two paramedics assigned. Because Santa Cruz County does not have a trauma center and the nearest such facilities are in Santa Clara County, patients meeting trauma criteria are typically airlifted by either CALSTAR or Stanford Life Flight air ambulances.

Hazardous Materials Response

Initial response to hazardous materials incidents on campus is provided by SCFD in conjunction with Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) personnel. For major incidents, the Santa Cruz County Hazardous Materials Interagency Team (SCHMIT) will be activated. SCHMIT responds to major hazardous materials incidents county-wide and is staffed by hazardous materials technicians from several area fire departments.