If there’s one thing Capt. Keith Cullom is, it’s consistent. As far back as junior high school, Cullom, 56, had developed a strong interest in firefighting as a career and in photography. Now, more than 40 years later, Cullom is retiring from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department after 35 years, and he’s taking more photographs than ever.

Yesterday was Cullom’s last day on the job as the agency’s public information officer, his last position with the department, something he’s done for a little over two years, and a job that is essentially “24/7,” he said.

While growing up in Santa Monica, Cullom had a close friend whose father was a battalion chief with the local fire department. He got an up-close look at the career and got to know many of the agency’s firefighters through the family friend, spending time at fire stations and seeing things the average teen wouldn’t have the opportunity to experience.

He noted at the time that most, if not all, of the firefighters he met back then had been in the career for a long time, and they loved what they were doing.

“They strongly encouraged me, when I was quite young, to follow my interest and to go into the field,” he said. “And I highly recommend it as a career. It was a fortunate, beneficial path.”

Prior to taking exams and applying to several Southern California fire departments, Cullom worked for a few years for Southern California Edison on a line crew, which he likened in some ways to working as a firefighter in the sense that it was a demanding, hard line of work, but one in which “you earn an honest living.”

Santa Barbara County Fire Department was the first to give Cullom a call, he said, and he has spent the vast majority of his 35 years as a firefighter in and around Goleta. A member of the first class to graduate from the Santa Barbara County Fire Academy, he was more thoroughly trained than those who preceded him.

“Before that, you learned from the day you started by going to calls and riding on the fire truck,” he said.

“I am so happy I pursued fire service as a career,” he reflected. “I signed on with certain expectations, and they have been more than met; I’m thrilled about that. And it’s very rewarding, coming to someone’s assistance.”

When he started, Cullom said, the department was more of a rural fire fighting agency.
“It was good then, but it is an excellent department now.”

Cullom is a veteran of many notable area wildfires, including the Painted Cave, Sycamore Canyon, Wheeler and Day fires.

A fire that sent approximately 30 to the hospital, at what is now known as Francisco Torres, remains prominent in his memory: the sixth floor of the 11-story building was on fire, with a great deal of heavy smoke spreading throughout and tenants hanging out windows when firefighters arrived, he said. He was also on scene at two different fires on Stearns Wharf.

“Firefighting hasn’t fundamentally changed,” he said. “We still put the wet stuff on the red stuff, but equipment, technology and training has improved dramatically, and the range of responsibility has expanded tremendously.”

As for changes Cullom has witnessed since joining the department in 1972 at 22, there are many.

Among the new duties are urban search and rescue, hazardous materials management, water (both swift and ocean) rescue, canine search and rescue and the paramedic program.

Cullom is well known locally and across the nation for his photos of fires, firefighting and rescues.

“Photography serves as a valuable educational service, illustrating the results of fires,” he said. “And it can encourage others to keep their environments safer.”

It’s also an exciting venue, he said — action-packed, demanding. He has many years of experience documenting auto accidents, rescues and more, and hundreds of his photographs have been used in training as well as in newspapers, magazines and professional journals.

“If we can show people how a fire works or what happens,” he said, “they can ... hopefully become more aware of their surroundings, and keep them safer.”

Cullom is aware there is some perception that the life of a firefighter includes a lot of leisure and down time, but says that’s far from reality. A large percentage of firefighters’ time is spent training.

“The department’s professionals spend about 10 times as much time on training as they do to responding to emergencies,” he said. “And if you don’t train, you’re unprepared,” he said. “A firefighter’s responses have to be automatic and appropriate.”

Firefighters also have responsibility for code enforcement, hydrant maintenance, educating the community and responding to a wide variety of situations that have nothing to do with fires, including medical emergencies and search and rescue.

“Most people have no idea how complex the fire service is,” he said. “We’re responsible for knowing how to do just about everything as the bottom line, or safety net, of a community’s defense.

“About the time you think you have flat seen it all,” he said, “something different comes along. If it can be done, someone will do it, and the fire department is called in to respond.”

The father of three grown children — Erin, Ryan and Lindsay — he plans to do plenty of traveling, relaxing and photography in retirement. His wife, Liz, he said, “will be a wonderful partner to enjoy retirement with.” Among destinations on his wildlife photography list are Australia and Alaska.