SAN ANTONIO - Long response times for emergency services that people in Far Southwest Bexar County know all to well might be something they won't have to deal with anymore.
"Twenty-two minute response times is unacceptable for anyone," said Chief Gary Estep at Emergency Service District 5.
Chief Gary Estep says that's how long it takes for fire and rescue crews from Fire Station 151 on Kinney Road to respond to residents in the Luckey Ranch subdivision located off WT Montgomery Road.
"I know every minute counts," said William Goodmam, a Luckey Ranch Subdivision Resident.
The good news for William Goodman and his neighbors is that they won't have to wait those long, agonizing minutes for help anymore.
New legislation after a local grass roots effort is making it possible to build three new fire stations in Emergency Service District 5, only five minutes from the sprawling community of Luckey Ranch.
"Having a good response time is an amazing thing for this neighborhood, there are a lot of kids in this neighborhood and I have kids myself," said Goodman.
One of Goodman's kids attends Luckey Ranch Elementary, having a fire station near the subdivision provides some peace of mind for his family and the Fire Chief Estep says a quicker response time could mean the difference between life and death.
"They can save your property and even more importantly, they can save your life, think about cardiac arrest, after 6 minutes, eight minutes, you start irreversible brain damage,' explained Chief Estep.
Commissioner Rebeca Clay-Flores represents this rapidly growing section of Bexar County. She says filling the long-needed gap with more available emergency services will be life-saving.
"If you're driving outside the city of San Antonio, if there's an accident, if there's a fire on the road, it is our ESDs who report to those emergencies," said Rebeca Clay-Flores, County Commissioner in Precinct 1.
Commissioner Clay Flores says, the City of San Antonio would approve anything over $20,000 for ESDs. San Antonio's Assistant City Manager, Jeff Coyle says, the protection was in place to avoid accruing too much debt and to maintain compatibility with the San Antonio Fire Department.
The new bill, that goes into effect March 1, 2024 eliminates that process of having to ask the city's permission.