Names in the News
Patterson Joins USFA
William J. Patterson has resigned as chief of the Santa Barbara County, Calif., Fire Department to take a position as regional coordinator for the United States Fire Administration. He will serve within Region 9 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency located in San Francisco.
Prior to joining the Santa Barbara County Fire Department as chief in 1976, he was a 28-year member of the Long Beach, Calif., Fire Department, retiring as deputy chief.
Patterson, who was a registered fire protection engineer, also was Santa Barbara County fire service coordinator for the California Office of Emergency Services. He holds membership on a number of fire service committees including the California Fire Chiefs Association’s research and development committee, the NFPA fire nozzle and fire hose committees, the IAFC hazardous materials committee, Project FIRES committee, the Santa Barbara County emergency medical care committee and the fire agency emergency medical technician apprenticeship committee.