Thanks to dynamic resource management and increased efficiencies in the district dispatch center, the partnership between the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District and American Medical Response - the Alliance - has lowered ambulance response times into Lafayette an average of nearly two minutes in its first full year of operation. The Alliance began delivery of ambulance service to most of Contra Costa County in January 2016 under a first-of-its-kind arrangement in California. Fire Chief Jeff Carman said at the time that the union of the two providers of pre-hospital emergency medical care under a single governing body would allow for faster and more efficient emergency response. For Lafayette, the chief's prediction has been on target.