DiMizio sworn in as Santa Barbara's fire chief

By DAILY SOUND STAFF — Nov. 13, 2009

After serving at the helm of the Santa Barbara City Fire Department on an interim basis since May, Andrew DiMizio took the oath of office and officially assumed the role of fire chief.

Mayor Marty Blum oversaw the ceremony yesterday at fire headquarters, 121 W. Carrillo St. DiMizio had been appointed to the job during a city council meeting several weeks ago, but had yet to be sworn in as fire chief.

He is now responsible for overseeing a $21-million budget and 113 employees, and providing leadership for the department in the areas of fire suppression, fire prevention, inspection and emergency response.

A graduate of UC Santa Barbara, DiMizio started his fire career through a summer job with the U.S. Forest Service and joined the city department in 1980. He gradually worked his way through the ranks — from engineer to captain to battalion chief — before stepping into the role of interim deputy fire chief in 2005 while city officials conducted a search for a new fire chief.

During his career with the city, he has been involved in many of the major incidents during the past three decades  including the Zaca, Gap, Tea and Jesusita fires. He worked on the Painted Cave, Sycamore Canyon and Eagle Canyon fires, as well as a train derailment involving hazardous materials in Ventura County.

DiMizio was named interim fire chief earlier this year following the retirement of Ron Prince, who had spent three years as fire chief and retired after 35 years in the fire service.

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