Thoughts on Mutual Aid

Mutual aid is defined as, “An agreement among emergency responders to lend assistance across jurisdictional boundaries when needed.” So, how have you devised your mutual-aid plans? Are they informal or formal written agreements? Do you participate in a local, regional, or statewide plan? Do you know what is expected of your department, and do your mutual-aid partners know what is expected of them when they answer the call for help?

One thing is certain: Today’s volunteer fire service relies heavily on a strong system of mutual-aid agreements, from preplanned, automatic response on certain call types to working fires and large-scale incidents. As a chief officer, you are responsible for making sure that such a system is in place to best serve your department’s specific needs as well as serve the residents of your district. What works for one department may not work for another.

(1) Photos by author unless otherwise noted.

Like size-up situations, circumstances may change, and adjustments must be made regarding your mutual-aid partners. Always be aware of what’s going on with your “neighbors.” At times, it is not as easy as just calling the department next door; well-thought-out mutual-aid planning should take into consideration the following four areas of concern, which can be remembered by using the acronym PATS:

Proximity.
Availability.
Training.
Special needs and considerations.

Let’s look at these concerns and what an organization and chief officer must consider when preplanning mutual-aid companies. It is easy to overlook; take for granted; or, at times, just plain ignore many of the following points during the planning stages.

Proximity

The most logical way to decide on mutual aid, proximity is based on the distance of your neighboring departments and the shortest travel time a mutual-aid company has to get to a response area or to the scene of an incident.

For many volunteer departments, mutual-aid plans are often part of a decades-long informal standing agreement that is filled out by the dispatch center during alarms. At times, these agreements are changed or tweaked from year to year when a new chief comes into office, especially in volunteer systems where chiefs and line officers are always changing and are elected on a yearly or bi-yearly schedule. But, for the most part, they remain the same; these plans have always been there. It’s the, “That’s the way we have always done it” or “The closest department goes” mentality. Most departments follow this method and, for many rural departments, there is no other choice but to pick the next department down the highway. Common sense would dictate that the closest available mutual-aid department with the type of apparatus that is needed will be assigned to your need at the time, right? But is this always the case?

Why wouldn’t you pick your closest neighbor? As we read further and apply the other areas of concern-availability, training, and special considerations-to the equation, the department closest to your district may not always be the best choice.

Availability

In terms of availability, today’s volunteer fire service is an always-changing, fluid entity. Staffing and, ultimately, the availability of your mutual-aid partners can change on a yearly, monthly, weekly, daily, and even hourly basis. Unless you run a system with a definite number of staff standing by in house, your staffing availability changes during the day; you really do not know who your complete complement of personnel is going to be until the alarm sounds. As a chief officer, you should not only evaluate your own department’s response times and staffing to alarms but also those of your mutual-aid partners.

Consider the scenario of your “always reliable” mutual-aid engine’s day crew not being what it used to be. Why? Circumstances have changed in this “Department A”; perhaps the two retired members relocated to warmer states for the winter months. Three of the four younger members who were always on the rig have now gotten full-time jobs or are in college full time. The fast, well-staffed response you had always counted on is no longer there. Because of these factors, you may have to take an engine from another neighboring department. You may have to “leap frog” and pull the mutual-aid engine from two districts away. Why? Because “Department B” has just started a program of six-member in-house day crews from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. You can now rely on a very quick response with a definite predetermined crew size on every request during those hours.

Are there “hard feelings” in making such a change? Probably, but its business, not personal, and you should be on the same page with all the chiefs in your area. When the alarm sounds, it should always be strictly business.

Following are some other thoughts and questions regarding mutual-aid crews in volunteer departments:

Does the chauffeur come in to operate the rig on the mutual-aid unit work, or does he always remain with the rig? Does it matter? Perhaps. The crew size of four that was given to the dispatcher may, in reality, only be a crew of three members who are actually working.
Some volunteer departments have various categories of firefighters such as interior and exterior classifications. Does your mutual-aid department allow exterior firefighters on the mutual-aid rig and count them as part of the final crew number? If so, will there be a productive job for them at the scene, or will they just be bystanders wearing “cool” outfits?
Be careful not to strip a neighboring department of too much apparatus and staffing, especially during weekday hours. A department may be able to send you an engine but not an engine and a ladder. Consider taking only one resource from each mutual-aid partner unless you know the department can staff each rig accordingly.

Training

Ultimately, this is the most important part of the PATS acronym. How well trained are your perspective mutual-aid partners? In planning their mutual aid, some departments will skip the closest-in-proximity department if they know its members are not trained to the same level as their own membership. This is not unheard of; some career departments may skip over two volunteer departments in favor of another career department that is a considerable distance away.

This practice occurs because the career department can count on the exact staffing coming in as well as a guarantee that the training level of the crew matches its own. Can this create some animosity between adjacent departments? Most likely, but to remedy this situation, all departments in a geographic area-paid, combination, and all-volunteer-should strive to achieve the same training and credentials. This may seem like a daunting task, but it is not impossible. Regular mutual-aid partners should drill with each other on a regular basis, even attend fire school classes and live evolutions together as one large unit.

Staffing and training become very important when discussing firefighter assist and search/rapid intervention/rapid air transport teams (FASTs/RITs/RATs). Unless you are a very large department, your FAST/RIT/RAT is going to function as mutual-aid responders. If you are following National Fire Protection Association 1407, Standard for Training Fire Service Rapid Intervention Crews, these responders will be coming in automatically on the transmission of a working fire. Look into the training that your FAST/RIT/RAT is bringing you; not every department trains the same or has the budget to train the same.

Are you aware of your neighboring departments’ training habits? Do you drill with them? What training do they have? Do they have the proper FAST/RIT/RAT tools for the job? Are they staffing the rigs with probies? Do they know the types of buildings and “target hazard” buildings in your district to which they may have to respond? These are questions you cannot be afraid to ask.

It has been said that it takes 12 firefighters an average of 18 minutes to complete a firefighter removal. Again, you may consider calling a department two districts away that is consistently getting a crew of eight out for a mutual-aid call while your immediate neighboring department is only getting three to four. Eight is not 12, but it sure is better than four! When it comes to FAST/RIT/RAT, always look at staffing and training.

Special Needs and Considerations

Does your department have unique situations, needs, and concerns? These needs and concerns can include your district’s geographic makeup, lakes, rivers, mountains, hazardous materials sites, and high-occupancy target buildings as well as special procedures, apparatus, or equipment needs. You must consider these and the following factors when deciding whom you call for mutual aid.

Bridges and tunnels. This equates to weight and height considerations. It is nice to request your neighbor’s brand-new 105-foot tower ladder/rescue/quint/tanker to your next job, but can this mammoth new rig fit under all of your district’s highway underpasses and railroad bridges (photos 1, 2)? Does your district have a bridge with weight restrictions? Can the bridge handle the new rig’s weight? Does the mutual-aid company have to go miles out of its way to enter your district because of such a restriction? Can the rig make the turns needed to get to the extremely congested, older part of town with its many narrow streets? This can be overlooked at times, even by the department buying the rig. Some departments’ rigs cannot travel on some parkway sections in their own districts because of the rig’s height restrictions (because it was spec’d out this way). What about those horror stories of a new rig being delivered to a department, only to find out that it can’t be backed into the firehouse? Keep track of what your mutual-aid department’s fleet of rigs looks like. Next time you go to your neighboring town’s wet-down dedication for a new truck, make sure you get the particulars about the new rig. Don’t just buy a mug and a T-shirt!
Grade-level railroad crossings. Are railroad tracks running through your town where there is a considerable traffic problem during certain hours of the day? Will the closest responding mutual-aid apparatus be held up at the crossing during rush hour? You must consider this scenario not only for your own department’s response times but also for incoming mutual-aid units.
Target buildings. If your district features six-story apartment buildings, garden apartments, and the like, make sure your mutual aid covers standpipe operations, elevator procedures, and the overall tactics for these building types. Your closest proximity mutual-aid department may have only one- or two-story private dwellings in its district. The lack of experience or training the department has on these structures may force you to reevaluate it as a mutual-aid responder. This may sound overtly negative, but remember, you are in charge of your district and, ultimately, the decisions made. Make sure to train with your proximity departments so they become well-versed in the operations and tactics needed for these structures. If cross-training is not possible, you may have to consider getting your mutual aid from a department that is two or three districts away. These departments may be traveling a greater distance to reach your area, but if you both share similar building types in your districts and are well-trained at fighting fires in them, teaming up with them may be the wiser decision.
Hazardous materials and special operations. Does your district have a potential confined-space hazard or hazmat location? If your department cannot handle such a situation, do you know where to get the necessary help? Who in your area has the special equipment and, more importantly, the trained people to get the job done? In many cases, this mutual aid will come from a significant distance. What can your department do to help mitigate the situation until the specialists arrive?
Special apparatus and equipment needs. Besides hazmat and technical rescue equipment, are you familiar with all the other specialized apparatus available to you in your county or surrounding counties? Where can you get brush trucks, tankers, boats, foam trailers, rehab units, swiftwater rescue teams, wilderness search and rescue teams, and field communications trucks? As a chief officer, you must be aware of what’s available to you and how to get it as well as the estimated response times. You may encounter a situation in which the tractor-drawn ladder truck of a department 20 minutes away may have to be special-called because of its maneuverability at a certain fire (photos 3, 4). What happens if a major water main breaks in which a large area of your town will be without hydrants for an extended period? Calling in a tanker to stand by in your district may be unheard of, but as a chief, you must be able to do what’s right for the citizens of your district and prepare for the worst. Your regular mutual-aid partners should be well-versed in your department’s operations. However, on those really large alarms or catastrophic emergencies in which you may be receiving help from some very distant departments (as did many East Coast departments during Super Storm Sandy), it will pay to consider the following and how adaptable the incoming companies can be.
Thread sizes. In my county, which features 71 fire departments, a number of thread sizes are used for hose connections such as National Standard, Fire Department of New York (FDNY), New York Corporation, and others. You must have the correct adapters to do the job. You also must be aware of every possibility you may encounter. Keep abreast of the thread sizes in your area and county; you never know where you may end up. In fact, the city of Long Beach, New York, has recently begun installing a new-style fire hydrant made by Sigelock Systems (photos 5-7). The “Security Model” being installed, besides having a totally new look for a hydrant, also features a special “opening tool” and “all-in-one” wrench that you must use to open the hydrant. Imagine not being prepared and pulling up to one of these hydrants! FDNY also uses a special hydrant wrench that all Nassau County engine companies receive when they arrive at their assigned firehouses as part of the preplanned Nassau County/FDNY mutual-aid plan. Also make sure that mutual-aid companies are aware of the proper tools and adapters necessary for operating in your district.
Radio frequencies. There are many counties such as mine in which there are a seemingly endless number of frequencies on which various agencies work. You need to figure out how your standby units are going to communicate with the dispatcher and each other. Find out the radio capabilities of your mutual-aid companies, and keep in mind that you must supply radios to units that may be coming from a far distance, as demonstrated in Nassau County during Super Storm Sandy. Who knew that companies from Saratoga and Rensselaer Counties [such as the Melrose (NY) Fire Company] would be sitting in Nassau County firehouses, but it happened (photo 8). Be aware of these scenarios should they occur.
Plain language vs. a coded system. Do incoming mutual-aid units use an unfamiliar radio system of coded signals or “10” codes that differ from your department’s or county’s? Are they using plain language? Do they understand that they will need to switch to common terminology?
Accountability systems. Do the units coming in have a system in place that will keep command informed of who is on the rig? Do they use a key tag or passport system? A helmet or self-contained breathing apparatus barcode system with a scanner? Are you equipped with the necessary means to log their crews into the incident? Or, maybe they have no system in place at all. How will you keep track of the crews? As an incident commander (IC), it all ultimately falls on your shoulders.
Bailout/personal escape systems. Every department in New York State is required to supply each firefighter with a personal escape rope system if the firefighter, while working, is exposed to the risk of entrapment at elevations. Each district is required to complete a written risk assessment of its district that identifies the heights of buildings and other structures. This also includes districts to where you will be responding with mutual aid “with a reasonably predictable frequency.” So, if your department supplies personal escape systems for your members, in theory, the responding mutual-aid company’s firefighters coming to your district must also have these systems to operate. Do you have a system in place and, if so, do the responding mutual-aid companies have these systems? If not, will there be legal ramifications?

One last note on special needs: Consider creating a department “fact sheet” that you can distribute to mutual-aid partners beforehand that describes any special needs your district may require. List your district’s hydrant and hose threads, operational radio frequencies, and other special hazards and concerns such as those listed above. You can e-mail/fax these fact sheets to potential mutual-aid partners ahead of time to ensure departments become familiar with your needs.

Prearranged Standby Assignments

Many volunteer departments make provisions for mutual-aid companies to cover their districts while the host department may be out of service for reasons such as department installations, retirement dinners, parades, funerals, and so on. These standbys can last from a few hours to an overnight detail. For this scenario, many “deals” have been hammered out on the back of a business card at dinner with neighboring chiefs while you “network” at conventions and other firematic events.

What should you be concerned with in these “standby” situations? Take into account all of the above when selecting departments/apparatus to fill your stations. However, also consider the following points specific to volunteer departments.

Choosing distant companies. You are responsible for the companies that are covering your district. Your regular mutual-aid companies probably know your district well from years of operating in it. Picking a covering unit from a department that is 40 miles away that has never been to your district before is a gamble. If you insist on bringing in a distant company, make sure the other companies involved in the standby detail know your district and you can trust that they have an idea of your first-due areas. Supply these companies with maps, run cards, and radios so they can communicate with the dispatcher and other companies on the detail. Make sure these distant companies stay with the more familiar companies, and do not get lost responding to alarms. This does happen!
Keep someone behind to ride along with the standby companies. No matter what function members hold in a volunteer department, you will get someone who does not want to participate; in fact, you may get several members who do not. Instead of making them outcasts and putting the entire department out of service (as some departments do), ask the member if he would ride along with the standby companies or, better yet, give him the fire department sport utility vehicle for the night to help lead the standby companies to alarms. In most cases, you will probably be able to field a crew to staff an engine. Have this crew and rig respond with the out-of-town companies.
Outside crews using your apparatus. Some departments allow crews from other departments to provide standby coverage with their staffing using the host’s apparatus. I am very much against this. I don’t care if you have the same year and make of apparatus; the rigs are not the same. Sure, the chauffeur may be able to drive the rig, but is the pump panel the same? Is it mechanical or electronic? Are outrigger/tormentor operations and hosebed layouts the same? Will crews be familiar with the layout of the rig? You will never learn where everything is on that rig and be able to grab what you need in a timely fashion by doing a quick walk-around of the rig; you’re too used to your own apparatus. If you are a volunteer firefighter, have you ever worked a fire with someone else’s gear? It just doesn’t feel right, and you will feel awkward from the get-go. It’s similar to working off a rig with which you are unfamiliar. I do like it when our frontline rig is out of service and we get the spare rig. It’s nice, but I am just not used to the new layout, not to mention the problems that arise if there is an accident with the rig. What official training did that person responsible for the accident have on your department’s truck? Excuses such as, “He drove it around the block for five minutes beforehand” and “His department has the same type of truck, just in yellow,” are not going to cut it in court.

There is a lot more to consider when planning your mutual-aid partners. No matter what methods you use or how you go about it, one thing is certain: You should have a plan in place before the alarm sounds. Some departments do not have written plans in place, and the IC will just call whoever he wants at the moment. I am not in favor of this sort of arrangement; the IC has his hands full with enough chaos to have to worry about calling in mutual-aid companies “on the fly.”

Your dispatchers will also do a better job when they have a predetermined plan to carry out. Good dispatchers will anticipate the next move, and their operation will move more smoothly and swiftly. If you do not have a prearranged alarm plan that your dispatcher will execute for working fires or other large-scale mutual-aid events, create one as soon as possible. From notifying utilities that may be needed on scene to contacting the Red Cross, these procedures help an IC make sure all needs are covered.

Also, develop a multialarm plan with your other line officers. Contact your mutual-aid partners to make sure they know what is expected of them and what resources are in the plans. Also make sure you can comply with what is expected from your department as well as keep all of your partners in the plan up-to-date regarding any plan changes or alterations.

I am NOT against sending in the closest resource; this is done in most cases, and it is the correct choice. This article aims to identify other considerations when you are sizing up your mutual-aid needs. Some of these ideas may seem “outside the box” to some, but today’s fire officers must not be afraid to consider all their options when deciding on procedures that will affect their operations, even those options that may have once been thought of as out of the question.

Photo by Kevin Madigan.

Except for very large departments, not many organizations can handle “the big one” alone. Large-scale mutual-aid incidents will involve many agencies, each with different cultures and ways of doing things. It all falls on your shoulders; you must base your decisions on what will be the best resource for your department and ultimately the communities you serve.

MICHAEL CAPOZIELLO is a 31-year member and former chief of the Elmont (NY) Fire Department. He is also a department training officer, a public information officer, and a historian. Capoziello is a supervising dispatcher at Nassau County (NY) Fire Communications FIRECOM and a training officer on the fieldcom unit. He is also a 15-year member of the Nassau County fire service critical incident stress management team.

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