Public Education

  • Community Emergency Response Training (CERT) a 36 hour course designed for the average citizen so that they can be of help to their neighborhood or business where they work in times of a disaster. Carpinteria C.E.R.T. is a "Partnership with the City of Carpinteria, the Santa Barbara County Sheriffs, and the Fire District."
  • Fire Safety Trailer Program - a program focused on 3rd grade students, taught by Firefighters to teach elementary school children about home fire safety and fire prevention, as well as emergency preparedness for disasters.
  • Career Day Presentations - aimed at high school age youth, to encourage them to continue their education and look into the firefighting career as a career choice.
  • Fire safety and prevention for homeowners living in the Urban-Interface areas.
Fire Safety Education

We actively participate and support a number of community events including:

  • Avocado Festival
  • Holiday Parades
  • Art Festival and Farmers Market

The Carpinteria-Summerland Fire District supports and has membership/ leadership in the Santa Barbara County FireSafe Council, the Emergency Public Information Communicators group called EPIC, and the CAER Community Awareness Emergency Response group.

Education

Learn more by clicking the links below:

FIRE SAFETY TRAILER

A shared resource is making a big difference in Public Fire Safety Education, and it's a unique tool for firefighters and students.

Fourteen years ago, six fire agencies in Santa Barbara County embarked on a unique approach to fire safety education using a shared resource, namely a 30' travel trailer designed as a "kid-sized" two-story house, complete with three rooms - a living room, kitchen and second-floor bedroom.

The "Fire Safety House" trailer was purchased with a grant from the Santa Barbara Foundation, which normally does not fund government programs; however, when the Foundation learned the trailer would be taken to all third grade classrooms throughout the County and all the Fire Chiefs had signed an agreement to use the trailer, it was quickly a done deal.

Each fire agency calls to schedule use of the trailer, with the same schedule usually retained year to year to keep consistency with school calendars and help coordinate with fire department in-house calendars.  Each agency has signed an agreement for use and agrees to a standard per day of use maintenance fee, to cover annual maintenance necessities.  Mostly because of its central location, logistics including the housing of the "Fire Safety House Trailer" have been successfully managed by the Santa Barbara City Fire Department.

This year the Carpinteria-Summerland Fire Protection District will be initiating its Fire Safety House trailer program in conjunction with National Fire Prevention Week, October 7-13, with the theme, "Practice Your Escape Plan."  The Fire Safety House trailer will begin visiting local elementary schools starting October 15, and will then move on to schools in other jurisdictions in the County.

Since the inception of this program, thousands of students have benefited from the Fire Safety House experience.  Every year over 3,000 third grade students complete the program.  Interestingly, at that age they are like sponges - they soak up everything they see, hear and do, and when they get home they can't wait to share it with their family members.  One parent commented to a firefighter in the grocery store, "I know all about the Fire Safety House, my 3rd grade son won't quit talking about it!"

The Fire Safety House trailer program is a fast-paced hands-on learning experience taught by firefighters.  Generally, on duty Engine Company crew members are tasked to supervise each station, conduct instruction and monitor the students' participation. While the seriousness of the use of the 911 telephone system and the importance of knowing one's address is part of the exercise, the focus is home fire safety, learning to recognize common in-home fire hazards, including lessons about fireplaces, matches, candles, cooking, heating and electrical appliances, and most importantly, learning how to respond to a smoke alarm and safely escape a smoke-filled room.

Carpinteria Fire Department Safety Trailer Carpinteria Fire Department Safety Trailer
Carpinteria Fire Department Safety Trailer Carpinteria Fire Department Safety Trailer

Career Day

Carpinteria Fire Department Career Day Carpinteria Fire Department Career Day
Carpinteria Fire Department Career Day Carpinteria Fire Department Career Day

Recent News and Events

"The extreme timeliness of the crew's response was actually a giant benefit and we will never need to know what great damage she would have experienced had the response not been so very rapid."
Leonard Cole
Captain, LAFD Ret.