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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05 - Automatic Aid AgreementCITY OF NEWPORT BEACH CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT Agenda Item No. s August 26, 2003 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: Fire Department Tim Riley, Fire Chief, 644 -3101, triley @city.newport- beach.ca.us SUBJECT: Automatic Aid Agreement for Fire, Rescue and Emergency Medical Services between the City of Newport Beach and the City of Costa Mesa Recommendation: The City Council approve the Automatic Aid Agreement for Fire, Rescue and Emergency Medical Services between the City of Newport Beach and the City of Costa Mesa and authorize the Mayor to execute the agreement. Backqround: For more than forty years, Orange County fire departments have been sharing resources across jurisdictional boundaries to ensure prompt emergency service to our border constituents. This has been accomplished through the use of automatic aid, mutual aid and assistance for hire agreements. Automatic aid agreements are those that provide for the sharing of pre - selected resources from one jurisdiction into another, as programmed into our respective computer aided dispatch computers. This occurs automatically, without any further review or request. An example of automatic aid is the automatic dispatch of our temporary fire station resources into Santa Ana Heights. The City Council recently approved an updated automatic aid agreement between the City and the Orange County Fire Authority. We do not have an agreement between the City and the City of Costa Mesa. Mutual aid agreements are the reciprocal sharing of like resources on an as- needed, as- requested, as- approved basis. One agency makes the request of another agency, which reviews each request before approving or disapproving said request. A great example of that is the huge number of mutual aid units that responded into Costa Mesa during their 1993 fire storms event. We have been a member of the State of California Master Mutual Aid Agreement for many years. Assistance by hire is when one agency agrees to pay another agency for the use of a specified resource. An example of this is when a jurisdiction uses aircraft for fighting fires; they pay for the time used at the pre- agreed rate. In general, the agreement acknowledges the mutual benefit of cross - jurisdictional assistance as the policy of each party to the agreement and authorizes the Fire Chief from each jurisdiction to establish the specific level of assistance through the use of a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU). A copy of the MOU is attached as reference. This is consistent with the recent agreements we have entered into with the Orange County Fire Authority and the City and the City of Laguna. Attachments: Automatic Aid Agreement Memorandum of Understanding Prepared and Submitted by: Tirrrdit Riley, lore Chief AUTOMATIC AID AGREEMENT FOR EXCHANGE OF FIRE, RESCUE, AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES between the CITY OF COSTA MESA and the CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH THIS AGREEMENT, made and entered into this 151 day of, September 2003 by and between the CITY OF COSTA MESA, a municipal corporation in the County of Orange, hereinafter referred to as "COSTA MESA" and the CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH, a municipal corporation in the County of Orange, hereinafter referred to as "NEWPORT BEACH" WHEREAS, COSTA MESA and NEWPORT BEACH provide fire, rescue and emergency medical services within their respective jurisdictions; and WHEREAS, COSTA MESA and NEWPORT BEACH have found it to be of mutual benefit if the services of each fire department are in some circumstances extended outside of the limits of each jurisdiction into the boundaries of the other; and WHEREAS, the parties hereto desire to enter into a mutual response pact, wherein, in some circumstances, one party will respond to a fire, rescue or emergency medical incident occurring within the jurisdictional limits of the other party; NOW, THEREFORE, for and in consideration of the covenants contained herein, the parties hereby agree as follows: 1. This Agreement is a guide for day -to -day operations. It is not intended to replace or revise the Orange County Fire Services Operational Area Mutual Aid Plan. The specific details of the service to be provided under this Agreement and the general operational policies, including, but not limited to, response areas and types of equipment, operational command, incident reports, dispatch and communications, training, and response maps and preplans, and evaluation of effectiveness shall be determined by the COSTA MESA Fire Chief and the NEWPORT BEACH Fire Chief in a Memorandum of Understanding ( "MOU "). Operational components of the MOU may be amended by the mutual written agreement of the COSTA MESA Fire Chief and the NEWPORT BEACH Fire Chief. Any change in the MOU which constitutes a change in policy shall be approved by the Governing Body of COSTA MESA and the Governing Body of NEWPORT BEACH. 2. Each party shall, at its own expense, develop and provide for the necessary cross connections of its communication system with the communication system of the other. 3. Each party shall, at its own expense, provide to the other party a predetermined grid mapping system designating the response area for its areas included in this Agreement. 4. Responsibility for responding to requests for ambulance service shall continue to rest with the fire agency of the jurisdiction in which the emergency occurs. 5. The services provided by each party pursuant to this Agreement shall be provided at no cost to the other party. In the event an emergency is declared, this Agreement shall not constitute a waiver of the rights of the respective parties to claim state and /or federal reimbursement. 6. The COSTA MESA Fire Chief and NEWPORT BEACH Fire Chief or their designated representatives shall determine and agree upon the capabilities of each party to respond to incidents requiring special equipment. 7. The parties understand and agree that the responding party's response to a request for aid shall depend upon any existing emergency conditions within its own jurisdiction and the availability of its resources. 8. For purposes of liaison and the administration of this agreement, the COSTA MESA Fire Chief and the NEWPORT BEACH Fire Chief are designated as the representatives of the respective parties to this Agreement, and they shall be jointly responsible for administration of this Agreement. 9. This Agreement shall become operational and effective upon execution by both parties. The Agreement shall remain in effect until termination by either party. It is further agreed that either party may terminate the Agreement at any time by giving written notice to the other party at least sixty days (60) prior to the date of termination. 10. The parties agree that the provisions of this Agreement are not intended to directly benefit, and shall not be enforceable by any person or entity not a party to this Agreement. By entering into this Agreement, neither party waives any of the immunities provided under state or federal law. 11. Notwithstanding the provisions of Government Code 895.2, each party shall defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the other party and its officers, agents, employees and representatives from any and all losses, liability, damages, claims, suits, actions and administrative proceedings, and demands and all expenditures and cost relating to acts or omissions of the indemnitor, its officers, agents or employees arising out of or incidental to the performance of any of the provisions of this Agreement. Neither party assumes liability for the acts or omissions of persons other than each party's respective officers, agents or employees. By entering this Agreement, neither party waives any of the immunities provided by the Government Code or other applicable provisions of law. This Agreement is not intended to confer any legal rights or benefits on any person or entity other than the parties of this Agreement. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement on the day and year first above written. CITY OF COSTA MESA By: Dated: James M. Ellis, Fire Chief CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH M Steven Bromberg, Mayor LaVonne Harkless, City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: M Robert H. Burnham, City Attorney Dated: Dated: Dated: MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING FOR EXCHANGE OF FIRE, RESCUE, AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES between the CITY OF COSTA MESA and the CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH This Memorandum of Understanding ( "MOU ") is authorized by the City of Costa Mesa Fire Chief and the City of Newport Beach Fire Chief in an Agreement for Exchange of Fire, Rescue and Emergency Medical Services dated September 1, 2003, and is subject to the terms and conditions set forth in said Agreement. The purpose of this MOU is to outline the procedures for implementing the Agreement between the City of Costa Mesa, hereinafter referred to as "COSTA MESA" and the City of Newport Beach, hereinafter referred to as "NEWPORT BEACH ". This MOU is a guide for day -to -day operations. It is not intended to replace or revise the Orange County Fire Services Operational Area Mutual Aid Plan. This MOU replaces any existing MOU in effect between COSTA MESA and NEWPORT BEACH. AMOUNT AND TYPE OF ASSISTANCE This MOU is for the exchange of fire, rescue and emergency medical services to the areas specified. The identified fire department resources will respond to emergencies as set forth below. For the purposes of this MOU, the following definitions will apply to identified resources: BATTALION CHIEF: refers to an officer capable of and responsible for commanding incident resources and overall scene management. ENGINE: refers to a fire department resource meeting the equipment standards of a FIRESCOPE ICS Type 1 Engine with a minimum staffing of 3 personnel. PARAMEDIC: refers to a fire department resource providing advanced life support services in compliance with Orange County EMS Agency policy and procedure #090.00 definitions for "advanced life support"; "advanced life support unit'; and "emergency medical technician /paramedic." TRUCK or QUINT: refers to a fire department resource capable of providing a minimum elevated stream and rescue capability of not less than 50 feet and a minimum staffing of 3 personnel. Additional resources not described in this MOU may be requested by the Incident Commander or appropriate dispatch center through normal Mutual Aid channels as outlined in the Oranqe County Fire Services Operational Area Mutual Aid Plan. RESPONSE AREAS 1. COSTA MESA: Costa Mesa agrees to respond any and all available apparatus within the department into Newport Beach to assist the Newport Beach Fire Department, upon their request, anywhere within their jurisdictional area. The draw from Costa Mesa Fire Department will be automatic until Costa Mesa has provided Newport Beach Fire Department up to one (1) Battalion Chief, four (4) Engine or Paramedic Engine companies, and one (1) Truck/Quint company. 2. NEWPORT BEACH: Newport Beach agrees to respond any and all available apparatus within the department into Costa Mesa to assist the Costa Mesa Fire Department, upon their request, anywhere within their jurisdictional area. The draw from Newport Beach Fire Department will be automatic until Newport Beach has provided Costa Mesa Fire Department up to one (1) Battalion Chief, five (5) Engine companies, one (1) Truck company, and two (2) Paramedic units. Changes in this written MOU may be made at any time by mutual written agreement of the COSTA MESA Fire Chief and the NEWPORT BEACH Fire Chief. A signed amendment to this document will be prepared accordingly and distributed to all holders. OPERATIONAL COMMAND The first arriving officer will assume command until he or she reassigns command or is relieved by a chief officer. The highest- ranking officer from the authority having jurisdiction will have the ultimate authority to assume command. All operations will be conducted in a coordinated and organized manner. P.Idf7;VIIsz1 *ae736? When units of both agencies have responded to an incident, the unit of the agency having jurisdiction will be responsible for preparing the incident report. When no units from the jurisdictional agency respond to an incident, the units from the responding jurisdiction shall prepare their own incident report and the responding agency shall provide copies of the incident report to the jurisdictional agency. DISPATCH AND COMMUNICATIONS Request for services will follow the guidelines noted below: a) Contact shall be made to the dispatch center through pre - established communication links requesting a resource by fire station and unit type identified in this Agreement. b) All necessary information including address, type of emergency, tactical radio frequency and related information that is available shall be relayed to responding units and updated as appropriate. c) The agency receiving the request shall dispatch the requested resource, if available, and shall provide the responding units with all pertinent information, identifying the jurisdictional dispatch center and tactical radio frequency. d) If the requested type of unit is not in the station requested and located so as to result in an extended response time, the requesting agency's dispatch center will be advised of the delay to ensure that the closest unit will respond. e) If the requested unit encounters delays resulting from seasonal, traffic, or other restrictions, so as to result in an extended response time, the requesting agency's dispatch center will be immediately advised of the delay. TRAINING Periodic interagency training shall be conducted for the purpose of improving working relationships and operational coordination between COSTA MESA and NEWPORT BEACH units. This training shall be coordinated through the COSTA MESA Training Chief and the NEWPORT BEACH Training Chief. RESPONSE MAPS AND PREPLANS Upon execution of this MOU, each agency shall provide the other with current standard response maps and shall provide updated versions as changes occur. EVALUATION The effectiveness of the procedures contained in this MOU shall be evaluated annually, or as significant changes occur, by the COSTA MESA Operations Chief and the NEWPORT BEACH Operations Chief. COSTA MESA FIRE DEPARTMENT James M. Ellis, Fire Chief City of Costa Mesa NEWPORT BEACH FIRE DEPARTMENT Date: Date: Timothy Riley, Fire Chief City of Newport Beach