Housing and Development Newsletter
“Serendipity led us to Assistant Fire Chief Mark Smith (Vandenberg AFB Fire Department) and Captain Brandon Paige (Santa Barbara City Fire Department). Both men began their firefighter careers as Vandenberg AFB Hot Shots. In this capacity, they were able to fill in gaps as to how Vandenberg reacted after the 1977 fire.”
Note: The hot shot team was formed as a one-of-a-kind unit in the Air Force in the spring of 1978.
“This is a true local story of people who faced the most challenging of situations. It tells of hardships, of an untimely dance with death, luck and fear, Ford said. It tells of real flesh-and-blood heroes who ultimately pay a price for getting too close to the fire. It tells of survival, and it tells of remembrance.