The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors hearing room erupted with applause on Jan. 20 after the county officially honored retiring County Fire Chief Michael Dyer for his years of service. Dyer just smiled with his hands clasped in front of him and rocked back and forth on his feet.
“This is going to be harder than I thought,” he said as he stepped up to the microphone. “I hope I’ve fulfilled your expectations.”
Each of the five county supervisors lauded the achievements Dyer had in the 5-1/2 years he served as chief. His tenure in the county followed 31 years of service in the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
“I think it’s obvious from the comments that have been made that you’ve gone beyond our expectations,” 2nd District Supervisor Janet Wolf said.
The official resolution passed by the board highlighted “exemplary leadership” during the 2009 La Brea Fire and creating a career development guide and formal education component for fire personnel. It also commended Dyer for proposing the Los Padres Private Parcel Tax Annexation and Transfer and Fire District Property Tax Transfer to stabilize future revenue streams, serving as interim director for the Office of Emergency Services, and facilitating tech and safety upgrades. “You’ve taken a good department and taken it to greatness,” 1st District Supervisor Salud Carbajal said. “Hands down, you are the best fire chief we’ve ever had, at least in my time.”
Carbajal called the chief impressive, effective, and passionate, among other things. “You’ve left big shoes to fill,” he said.
And those shoes will be filled by Deputy Chief Eric Peterson, who takes over as chief on Feb. 2. Supervisors unanimously selected him as the next fire chief during their Jan. 13 meeting. Peterson has served the Santa Barbara County Fire Department since 1987 and rose up through the ranks as a firefighter, engineer, captain, president of Firefighters Local 2046, training battalion chief, operations battalion chief, fire marshal, and deputy fire chief.
“Chief Dyer is going to be a tough act to follow, but I look forward to the challenge,” Peterson said during the Jan. 20 meeting. “You’ve been great to work with, you’re a great boss, and we all owe you a huge vote of thanks.”
This article appears in Jan 22-29, 2015.