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Last week I was forwarded a newsletter from the Montecito Association. I was struck by the recommendation to use the 10-digit phone number for the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s landline rather than 911 when reporting an emergency in Montecito, specifically Coast Village Road. Having dealt extensively with this issue during my career with Santa Barbara City Fire, I thought it might be useful to share some of what I learned and why I feel that this is a bad idea, especially regarding Fire and Emergency Medical dispatching..