Chesapeake, Va. (WTKR) - Three cities in Hampton Roads are working on a plan to enhance fire safety.
Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake are all involved in the Tri-City Automatic Aid project.
Under the plan, response to neighborhoods where two city borders connect within a seven-minute automatic aid zone would be enhanced.
Automatic Aid would mean fire units from two cities would both be initially dispatched to a fire call within the zone.
It would be in addition to the normal city's response and it could provide firefighters with critical minutes during a fire.
"They mean everything. Fire activity can grow exponentially every few seconds, so the faster we can get on scene, the more potential we have to save lives and save property," Captain Scott Saunders with the Chesapeake Fire Department told NewsChannel 3's Todd Corillo Tuesday.
Right now the Tri-City Automatic Aid project is in progress by the Virginia Beach, Chesapeake and Norfolk Fire Departments.
Currently, implementation would only cover structure fire response times.
