The Santa Cruz County Hazardous Materials Team was formed in 2001 through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the County of Santa Cruz, the Cities of Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz, Capitola, and UCSC.

The Haz Mat Team is comprised of highly trained Hazardous Materials Technicians and Specialists, as well as Technical Specialists from UCSC. There are a total of 24 Haz Mat Techs representing the following agencies, Santa Cruz City Fire, Scotts Valley Fire, Aptos/LaSelva Fire, Central Santa Cruz Fire and UCSC Fire.