SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif- San Luis Obispo County Cal Fire and City Fire Fighters have pooled their resources, to improve their response times. The number of calls to the SLO Fire Department and Cal Fire go up every year. With an increase in demand and a decrease in money, both departments have come up with a solution.
"The closest fire engine will respond to your emergency, regardless of city boundaries," says San Luis Obispo City Fire Chief, Charlie Hines. It's a race against the clock for fire fighters and being able to share resources can make a difference in life or death even if they get to you one minute earlier.
"Fire doubles in size every 60 seconds, when your heart stops, you start irreversible brain damage in as little as 4 minutes. So every second counts," says Chief Hines.
Now no matter what uniform a fire fighter is wearing, they will be there faster and that goes for medical emergencies as well. "At the end of the day it doesn't matter if it is a city fire engine or a county fire engine, the bottom line is we need to get to you fast."
The new arrangement comes right at the start of fire season which fire fighters predict could be a long one. The agreement began July 1st.
