Direct Relief kicks off Firehawk fundraising for new Santa Barbara County Fire helicopter

Technology has obviously changed since 1967 and up until now, the Santa Barbara County Fire Department and Sheriff’s Office has been relying on a helicopter from the Vietnam War-era for firefighting and search and rescue efforts.

The county just purchased a new toy from the California National Gard but now they need to retrofit it and that’s where Direct Relief has stepped in.

Money raised from the Santa Barbara County Vitners Foundation’s Biennial Fundraiser, combined with additional funds from Direct Relief makes up the $400,000 gift toward the $2 to $3 million dollar project.

“It’s a tool, quite frankly, that we only ever dreamed about before and now it’s a reality,” said Mark Hartwig, Santa Barbara County Fire Department’s Fire Chief.

Santa Barbara County knows all too well just how important aircrafts like this can be.

There was 131 hoist based rescues during the Montecito Debris Flow last January and a lot of those were done with Firehawks,” said Captain Daniel Bertucelli, Santa Barbara County Fire Department Public Information Officer.

During the Holiday Fire last July, L.A. County had to send their Firehawk up.

“The amount of fire that that helicopter was able to put out and the amount of homes that that helicopter was able to save was instrumental,” said Capt. Bertucelli.

However, high winds and harsh conditions revealed the limitations of the county’s aging Vietnam War-era Huey.

“For us in Santa Barbara County, to be able to have this resource available for us in the county and not depend on somebody else when we need it, cross our fingers and hope it’s available, is huge,” said Chief Hartwig.

Santa Barbara County’s Fire Chief says it’s hard not to get emotional about their newly purchased Blackhawk helicopter.

“For the community to come alongside of us and say, we want to help you get there, how can we do it, it’s special,” said Chief Hartwig.

Direct Relief’s fundraising kickstart will help convert the military-style Blackhawk into a civilian public safety Firehawk.

“It’s a great investment of the money that we’ re fortunate enough to have to put toward it,” said Thomas Tighe, Direct Relief President and CEO.

Fire officials say the capabilities this new aircraft will provide the county with is almost immeasurable.

“It’s extremely critical to have a helicopter of this magnitude and it’s capacity. Its flight speed is 220 miles an hour. It can drop 1,000 gallons of water and it can carry 12 people,” said Capt. Bertucelli.

Bertucelli says Direct Relief’s efforts will allow them to completely upgrade all the avionics, the navigation and radio and communication systems.

If you would like to make a donation to the Firehawk project online, click here.