Fire crews in Santa Cruz County will now be equipped with ballistic protection

There are dozens of items on fire trucks and engines that save lives, now Santa Cruz County fire crews will carry another item that could save their own.

As of this week, trucks will be equipped with ballistic vests and helmets for fire crews to wear when responding to violent situations.

Fire Chief Steven Hall with Central Fire District says he never thought as a fire fighter he would have to wear a bullet proof vest, but said that’s the reality we live in today.

“We need to be able to get in to get the victims out and we can’t do that, or shouldn’t do that just wearing our normal fire gear. So this is like an insurance policy for our first responders going into these situations should a stray bullet or active shooter start taking shots at fire service personnel as well, which has happened across the country over the past few years,” said Hall.

This week emergency personel from across the county are being fitted for the vests and training with law enforcement.

The training is also a time for all first responders to make sure they are on the same page when it comes to going into a dangerous situation.

Fire engineer, Bruce Desautels, has been with City of Santa Cruz Fire Department for more than 30 years.

He said there’s one day in particular that comes to mind where these vests would have absolutely been used. Feburary 26, 2013, the day Santa Cruz Police Sgt. Loran “Butch” Baker and Detective Elizabeth Butler were shot and killed.

He said he was one of the personel who responded to the scene to try and help Sgt. Baker and Detective Butler. “We would have been wearing them during that incident and I would have felt a measure of comfort greater than I had.”

During the incident the suspect not only murdered Sgt. Baker and Detective Butler, but also opened fire on first responders, including the other engine he was with. “Our truck 3170 crew ran for their lives, literally taking cover behind the ladder truck and they didn’t have any ballistic protection on at the time. Had they had that I know they would have felt a lot more comfortable.”

The vests were purchased through a grant the county received from the state’s Homeland Security Grant Program.