safety courses, especially for staff in the offshore sector and the maritime sector, and also the chemical industry, fire services, the aviation industry and military defence units. In addition, Falck is the largest private ambulance company in Europe. The firm provides ambulance services to the general public in seven countries in close collaboration with the authorities. Falck also provides other services for the public sector such as patient transport, rehabilitation of patients from the public hospital sector, operation of assistive equipment centres and a number of services for the police and the road authorities. For the year 2018 and forward, Falck management decided to refocus its business model. In December 2017, the Board of Directors decided to initiate a process to sell the Falck Safety Services division. The Board's decision was intended to streamline the Group by focusing on key business units. It is the Management's assessment that the divestment will be completed before year-end 2018. Privatization of Danish emergency services In Denmark, Falck is currently in charge of 65 percent of municipality fire brigades and 85 percent of ambulance services. In 1926, the Danish government allowed municipal governments to contract with private companies to provide emergency services. Falck USA Falck USA is a wholly owned subsidiary, that provides 24-hour ambulance transport and 9-1-1 response services. It provides basic life support and advanced life support services in the United States. The firm entered the US market in 2008 by acquiring Alford Safety Services Inc. At that time, Alford had six training centers in Louisiana and Texas. Now, Falck Alford is one of the largest providers of offshore and safety training to operators in the Gulf of Mexico. In 2010, Falck began offering ambulance service in the US with the acquisitions of private ambulance operations LifeStar Response (sold to Keystone Quality Transportation in 2021), American Ambulance and Care Ambulance Service serving Los Angeles, Riverside and Orange counties in California. In 2015, Care was awarded a contract to serve 12 new Orange County cities following a controversial bidding process that the Orange County Register called "long and troubled". Having since acquired more US-based ambulance companies, the firm now operates more than 1000 ambulances and is one of the largest private providers of emergency medical services in the United States. In 2021, the City of San Diego, California awarded Falck a contract for ambulance and paramedic services in the city, previously held by