Los Angeles Fire Department Station 19 Brentwood, 12229 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90049, US

The Santa Monica Fire Department consists of four stations and 129 personnel, 106 of whom are emergency responders, the remainder of whom are administrators. Thirty-one firefighters are on duty every day. The department has one truck: a two-piece company with a 100-foot aerial tractor-trailer and a rescue-type light-air unit. Three firefighters drive on the tractor-trailer, while two drive on the light-air unit. The SMFD was established in 1889 and enjoyed its 100-year anniversary in 1989. It's considered to be one of the first fire departments in the nation to run paramedics on its engine companies; in 1973, the SMFD began doing so with its Paramedic Engine Companies. The headquarters, located at 1444 7th St., features Engine 1, a Paramedic Engine Company with a four-member crew; Engine 6, a Paramedic Engine Company with a four-member crew; Truck 1, a 100-foot ladder truck with a five-member crew; and Battalion 1, a Command Vehicle with a Battalion Chief. According to Division Chief Kent Coble, the Santa Monica Fire Department receives an average of 12,000 calls each year. About 79 percent of them are medical calls, which he says is standard in the area. Among the annual events staged by the SMFD are the Burn Foundation Relay and the Candy Cane Drive. The latter is held in conjunction with the Santa Monica Police Department and consists of off-duty firefighters voluntarily transporting Santa Claus through the city via a police-escorted caravan that also includes fire engines.