The firehouse on Oak and 2nd streets will be staffed around the clock with nine county firefighters daily in three shifts of three.
Courtesy S.B. County Fire Dept., Capt. Eli Iskow
The former Solvang fire chief, Dwight Pepin, will become a county fire inspector.
Solvang will receive a brand-new fire engine and will lease its firehouse to the county for $1 per year. The city will pay $580,000 for the yearly cost of county service, or about a third of the total. The county will pay $1 million yearly.
The merger leaves just two volunteer fire departments still operating in the county, in the communities of Orcutt and Painted Cave.
Solvang has a brand new fire engine. Courtesy of S.B. Fire Dept., Capt. Eli Eskow.
“The response time was becoming unbearable,” he said. “It just reached the point where the chief wasn’t able to get enough volunteers.”
Solvang has a population of 5,500 people. Palmer said the city looked into establishing its own full-time fire department, but the cost, at $2 million per year, was prohibitive. So the merger with county fire was the logical next step, he said.
“People who value tradition did not wish it to happen,” Palmer said. “But safety comes first. The city council just felt it was an opportunity to get full coverage for a price we could afford.”
The merger brings the total number of county Fire Department stations to 16, a benefit to all residents, Capt. Iskow said. Solvang’s firefighters will now be able to respond to fires and vehicle accidents elsewhere in the North County and on the South Coast, he said.
