The Alameda Fire Department, under Chief David Kapler, offers fire protection, emergency and disaster response, as well as paramedic services and community education. The department's four open stations can provide emergency response anywhere in the city within approximately three to four minutes. The department responded to 6,573 calls in 2006, or about 18 calls per day. The 92-member department boasts four advanced life support engine companies, two ladder truck companies, three ambulances, one fireboat and one water rescue boat. It also offers a variety of safety courses, including an emergency preparedness course, which teaches participants fire suppression and disaster search and rescue techniques, and a fall-prevention program for seniors.