UC Santa Cruz is one of only two UC campuses (the other being UC Davis) that provides an on-campus fire department staffed by University employees.
History
UCSC's first student firefighters in the 1970s
with the original 1953 Navy-surplus fire engine.
The UCSC Fire Department was established in 1975 to provide a level of protection to the campus which was greater than the local community could provide. Additionally, a large portion of the campus is located outside the boundaries of any local jurisdiction. This makes providing comprehensive fire protection difficult.
Initially, Fire Department staffing was a combination of full-time staff and student volunteers. Over the years, the student volunteer program was disbanded and staffing is now provided by all University employees.
After originally being located at the base of campus at the Stone House, the current fire station was built on Chinquapin Road in the late 1970s. This location allows for a rapid response to all areas of the campus.
Today
Engine 2710 (right) and Engine 2730 (left),
UCSC's current fire engines.
Today, the Fire Department maintains a full staffing of 17 sworn employees and two civilian employees. The front office staff consists of the Fire Chief, the Assistant Fire Chief/Fire Marshal, the campus Emergency Manager, the campus Business Continuity Planner and the Unit Coordinator who all work a typical weekday schedule. In addition, there are three engine company shifts with a minimum on-duty staffing of four per shift. Each shift works 48 hours on duty before rotating, ensuring 24 hour a day coverage for the campus.
The Fire Department maintains two fire engines: Engine 2710, a Type 1 structural response engine, and Engine 2730, a Type 3 wildland response engine. Engine 2710 is normally staffed, but Engine 2730 can be put into service on a moment's notice for incidents requiring it's capabilities and carries much of the same equipment as Engine 2710.
Services
The UCSC Fire Department's core services include emergency response, fire protection engineering, fire prevention, public education, and emergency management. The Fire Department responds to approximately 600 emergency incidents per year.
The Fire Department is responsible for providing direct services to the over 500 structures, as well as a daytime population of over 19,000 and a nighttime residential population of almost 9,000. In addition to it's on campus responsibilities the Department is responsible for fire protection engineering and fire prevention for off campus facilities including Lick Observatory, Long Marine Lab, MBEST Center, Silicon Valley Center, and Big Creek Reserve.
Through agreements with surrounding agencies, the Fire Department responds to off-campus indicents where the University's resources are the closest available. In return, those agencies provide assistance to the University when needed. Additionally, the Department provides mutual aid response throughout Santa Cruz County and statewide. The Department also provides personnel to the Santa Cruz County Hazardous Materials Interagency Team.
Department Contacts
Main Office/Unit Coordinator
Leslie Dumller
(831) 459-3473
Fax (831) 459-7608
firedpt@ucsc.edu
Fire Chief
Chief Jeff Trapp
(831) 459-2344
jtrapp@ucsc.edu
Assistant Fire Chief/Campus Fire Marshal
Assistant Chief Rick Rodewald
(831) 459-2343
rickr@ucsc.edu
Campus Emergency Manager
Captain Chris Gaylord
(831) 459-2342
cgaylord@ucsc.edu
Business Continuity Planner
Elaine Rivas
(831) 459-3828
ejrivas@ucsc.edu
Shift Captains
A Shift - Captain Tim Batinovich
B Shift - Captain Britten Miles
C Shift - Captain Don Brookes
(831) 459-2339
fdcapts@ucsc.edu
