The problem was that the closest fire department resource did not automatically respond to emergencies in the Arvada Fire Protection District (AFPD) and the City of Westminster, Colorado, which increases fire loss and delays emergency interventions. The purpose of the research was to decrease fire loss and deliver prompt emergency interventions by implementing an automatic aid agreement between the AFPD and the Westminster Fire Department (WFD).Evaluative and descriptive research methodologies were used to answer the following questions: 1) What obstacles need to be overcome for an automatic aid agreement with the Westminster Fire Department to materialize? 2) What legal considerations should be resolved prior to implementing an automatic aid agreement between the two jurisdictions? 3) What effect on response times can be anticipated? and 4) What geographic areas may be most impacted by implementing an automatic aid agreement with the Westminster Fire Department? The procedures utilized two unbalanced-rating semantic differential scale surveys and a comprehensive literature review. Graphic information system (GIS) map data was also obtained and utilized to project response times to geographic areas within Arvada and Westminster, Colorado.The results demonstrated that a collaborative approach to emergency incident responses could benefit both jurisdictions, and that both jurisdictions have confidence in each other's capabilities, apparatus and equipment. Emergency service zones (ESZs) were developed and proposed to identify the geographic areas best served by such a collaborative approach to emergency incident responses. Challenges associated with implementing an automatic aid agreement were also identified. Recommendations deriving from the project included educating and obtaining political support for an automatic aid agreement from key stakeholders, evaluating communications interoperability and developing an ongoing training curriculum. The development of standard operating guidelines and a written legal agreement addressing automatic aid responses was also recommended.