Santa Barbara County Donates Ambulance To Hancock’s Public Safety Training Center
Jarrod Zinn
LOMPOC, Calif. (KEYT) – Allan Hancock College’s Fire and E.M.S. training programs have a new ambulance to use for hands-on drills and exercises.
A brief presentation ceremony was held at Allan Hancock College’s Public Safety Training Complex in Lompoc Tuesday morning as Santa Barbara County’s Fire Department donated an ambulance to the academy.
“Some of the ambulances the college is using now are towards the end of their service life,” says Mike Gray, Santa Barbara County Fire Department’s fire captain and public information officer. “So this will replace one of those. And that way they keep the program moving forward with the best training possible.”
Members of the Santa Barbara County Fire Department were joined by county EMS representatives, as well as Allan Hancock College administrators.
“Having good partners like Santa Barbara County that support our programs, it really shows how we can work together as a community to make sure that all of our first responders are properly trained,” says Allan Hancock College president Kevin Walthers.
This ambulance was purchased in 2008 and served the Lompoc Valley on the front lines out of Station 34 in Vandenberg Village, before entering reserve status.
“We have a great relationship with the college,” says Gray. “We use this facility for our firefighter academy. And so donating equipment here serves the entire community as well as the college.”
The donation adds to a collection of vehicles donated by county fire and emergency services, and this ambulance is now the newest model the college’s training center has access to.
“It’s nice to have a modern unit that our students can work on so that, when they leave and go to work in the field, they’ll have the same kind of equipment when they transfer over,” says Walthers.
Officials say that, as Hancock’s Fire and EMS training programs continue to expand, it’s vital for cadets to have access to as much up-to-date equipment as possible.
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