April 1, 2026

MONTECITO, CA – The Montecito Fire Protection District Board of Directors formally appointed Brian Fallon as Fire Chief on April 1, 2026, following Chief David Neels’ retirement on March 31, 2026. 

Fallon most recently served as Fire Chief for the Lompoc City Fire Department. He brings over 20 years of fire service experience to Montecito. 

Fallon is originally from Riverside, California, and comes from a family of public safety professionals who inspired him to pursue a career in firefighting. He attended paramedic school at Mount San Antonio College in 2002 and completed his Firefighter 1 Academy through Riverside Community College in 2004. While in school, he gained valuable experience as an EMT and paramedic for AMR in Riverside from 1999-2005 and spent a year working as a reserve firefighter for Riverside County Fire.  

In 2005, he was hired with the Rancho Cucamonga Fire Protection District as a firefighter/paramedic and promoted through the ranks of engineer and captain over his 16-year career there. At that time, he also earned his bachelor’s degree in Fire Science Administration from Waldorf University. In 2021, he accepted a battalion chief position with the City of Victorville Fire Department. Less than a year later, he was selected to be Victorville’s Fire Chief. While there, he played an instrumental role in opening a fifth fire station in an underserved area of Victorville. 

In January 2023, Fallon joined the City of Lompoc Fire Department as Fire Chief, a move that allowed him and his family to relocate to Santa Barbara County where they frequently vacationed and hoped to reside one day. During his time in Lompoc, he worked with city leadership to address overdue upgrades and replacement plans for the Fire Department. That included replacing the agency’s entire fleet of firefighting apparatus and purchasing a second wildland firefighting engine. 

Fallon prioritizes collaborating with local and regional partners. He served as vice president of the Santa Barbara County Fire Chiefs Association and as a liaison for the California Fire Chiefs Association responsible for coordinating with fire chiefs across Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.  

“I am genuinely humbled and honored to join Montecito Fire Department. While my role is at the top of the organization, I know the real face of the department are the people who deliver service every day on our fire engines,” Chief Fallon said. “My goal is to provide our personnel with the tools and resources they need to effectively do their job while looking for opportunities to maintain and enhance our services for the community’s benefit.” 

Chief Fallon now leads a team of about 50 full-time fire department employees serving the Montecito community. 

“Our Board is eagerly looking forward to working with our new chief.  Chief Fallon can expect a warm welcome and full support from all of us,” said Peter van Duinwyk, President of the Montecito Fire Protection District Board of Directors.

Fallon succeeds Chief Neels, who dedicated more than six years of service to the Montecito community and retired on March 31, 2026, after 36 years in public safety. 

“Our Board would like to thank Chief Neels for his leadership and dedication to serving the Montecito community,” said President van Duinwyk. “We congratulate him on his distinguished career and are grateful for his assistance in preparing Chief Fallon for his new role.” 

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