SANTA ROSA, Calif. - Santa Rosa's Fire Department announced it has purchased new equipment and increased staffing to protect the community from future wildfires, as firefighters marked the 8th anniversary of the deadly 2017 Tubbs Fire.

At a press conference Wednesday, the Santa Rosa Fire Chief Scott Westrope and Fire Marshal Paul Lowenthal announced the department is putting a new Engine Number 9 into service, and have created a new battalion chief and two fire prevention positions.

The funding comes from Measure H, a half-cent sales tax which Sonoma County voters passed by 61% in March 2024.

Memories of the Tubbs Fire are deeply personal to the firefighters who watched their own houses and neighborhoods burn on October 8, 2017, in a series of fires that claimed 22 lives.

"Myself and

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