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City Beat FIRE Innovative Solutions to Improving Response Times Vision Quest Ranch/Monterey Zoo 58 GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN WINTER 2020 gmhtoday.com GILROY A s more people move to Gilroy, and we continue to have long dry seasons, the need for fi re services continues to grow. This is especially true in the western Gilroy area known as the Glen Loma/Santa Teresa Fire District where the majority of new housing is being developed. To meet the growing need for services, the Gilroy Fire Department proposed the Alternative Service Model (ASM) pilot program, which assigns an existing advanced life support vehicle and two existing firefighters to the Glen Loma/ Santa Teresa district area from Monday through Sunday from 8 am to 8 pm. Following Council approval, this one-year pilot program began on July 1, 2019. Results from the first three months of the ASM program show significantly improved response times (reduced by over three minutes) in the Glen Loma/Santa Teresa Fire District. The ASM also benefitted Gilroy on a city-wide basis. The Gilroy Fire Department has extended the ASM pilot program and continues discussions regarding construction of a permanent fire sta- tion in the Glen Loma Ranch Development of the Glen Loma/Santa Teresa Fire District. We hope you never need the services of the Gilroy Fire Department, but if you do, our dedicated team is always on duty to meet the needs of the community. We are dedicated to innovative and forward- thinking planning to provide the best possible services to our Gilroy community.