Better communication, shared resources, and teamwork. That's what fire departments across the Delta Area are focusing on to speed up response times during emergencies.

For Camila Moreno, every day is a reminder of what her aunt's home once was.

The Edcouch home was destroyed by a fire back in October. The fire nearly reached Camila's own home, which sits just a few feet away.

Moreno says while the house holds many happy memories, that night was long and traumatic for her entire family.

"Seeing it like that is kind of like knowing that if the firefighters could have come a bit later, could have been a little bit faster, maybe it would have been just her car, it would have maybe just been the porch," Moreno said.

That's exactly what volunteer fire departments in Elsa, Edcouch, La Villa, and Monte Alto are working to improve faster, stronger responses by working together.

It's called Automatic Aid, a system that allows departments to communicate directly and respond at the same time when an emergency call comes in.

"We automatically both roll at the same time and we both get to location at the same time and we're able to provide a faster service with more personnel," Edcouch Fire Chief Victor Nieves said.

It also allows each department to bring specific equipment to the scene without delay.

"I can provide an engine and a tanker, Elsa can provide another ladder and a tanker and vice versa with La Villa and Monte Alto as well. So we're able to have the resources on scene without having to wait additional time to get there and put out a fire," Nieves said.

Nieves said this collaboration already exists with Elsa, but adding La Villa and Monte Alto will greatly improve training and operations.

"So their engineers are going to be able to operate my trucks if they need to pump my trucks to allow us to be more effective on the fire ground," Nieves said.

This is especially important in the Delta Area, where Chief Nieves says some calls can take 20 minutes or more because of how spread out the communities are.

"Everything is going to be evolving but I'm very excited for the Delta Area and fire protection. We need to take care of ourselves and we need to take care of our constituents," Nieves said.

Moreno says she's thankful this effort is now underway, knowing how much of a difference it could make for other families in the future.

"It's kind of bittersweet if you think about it, because it could have been like something they could have thought of a long time ago. I feel like they could have had a better success rate with families like us," Moreno said.