Santa Barbara County Fire to take over ambulance and EMS services from AMR

SANTA MARIA, Calif. – A unanimous Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted to approve a new contract with the Santa Barbara County Fire Department to provide emergency medical services (EMS) and ambulance response countywide starting in early 2024.

It ends a decades-old partnership with American Medical Response or AMR.

The Board says the bid for the new contract from SB County Fire was superior to AMR in terms of response times, locations across the county and revenue transparency.

SB County Fire has already purchased an entire fleet of new ambulance vehicles to augment its current EMS capability.

AMR can seek another permit from SB County to continue operating at a future date.

AMR is one of the largest, privately-owned ambulance companies in the country.