AGENDA CAPTION:
Title
Consider approval of Resolution 2025-62R, approving a Multi-Party Agreement for Mutual Aid in Fire Protection, Emergency Medical Services, and Cooperative Training; authorizing the City Manager, or her designee, to execute the agreement on behalf of the city; and declaring an effective date.
Body
Meeting date: April 1, 2025
Department: Fire Department, Chief Les Stephens
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Fiscal Note:
Prior Council Action: Prior agreements were approved on April 5, 2011 (2011-43R) and June 2, 2015 (2015-62R). The agreements were reviewed with no changes in 2018 and 2021.
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Background Information:
Pursuant to the Texas Interlocal Cooperation Act, this Agreement is entered into by, between and among the political subdivisions and participating non-profit corporations located within the State of Texas that by their signatures on duplicate or original copies of this Agreement have consented to the terms of this Agreement for the purpose of securing to each the benefits of mutual aid in fire protection, emergency medical services (“EMS”), cooperative training, back-filling when necessary, and/or fire origin and cause determination and investigation.
Our most recent mutual aid agreement with local and surrounding public safety entities was approved by the City Council on June 2, 2015 (Resolution 2015-62R). The agreement is being updated to include backfilling when necessary and fire origin and cause determination and investigation. Other minor technical and grammatical edits were made as needed.
An Automatic Aid Agreement and a Mutual Aid Agreement both involve Fire and EMS services collaborating with neighboring jurisdictions, but they differ in their operational structure and benefits.
Mutual Aid Agreement:
A Mutual Aid Agreement relies on a request-for-assistance model. When a jurisdiction needs additional resources beyond its own capabilities, it can request aid from neighboring areas. The benefits of a mutual aid agreement include:
1. Flexibility: Jurisdictions can request aid when needed, allowing them to manage resources based on specific needs and situations. There is no automatic deployment, which gives agencies more control over when and how they seek assistance.
2. Cost-Effectiveness: Since mutual aid is often based on reciprocal agreements, there may be minimal financial exchange. Agencies help each other out without a formal cost arrangement, which can save money on resources.
3. Adaptability: These agreements can be tailored to specific types of incidents, allowing for flexible, case-by-case resource requests.
4. Stronger Relationships: Mutual aid agreements foster collaboration and relationship-building between neighboring jurisdictions, creating a network of support when large-scale incidents occur.
5. Reduced Risk of Overcommitment: Since the requesting agency determines when and how aid is received, there’s less risk of depleting resources or overcommitting departments. The responding agency is also given the opportunity to determine whether it has extra resource(s) available to commit to an emergency in another jurisdiction.
Automatic Aid Agreement:
In contrast, an Automatic Aid Agreement, emergency response units are automatically dispatched to assist a neighboring jurisdiction when certain criteria are met, usually without the need for direct request or confirmation. These agreements are typically pre-established to ensure rapid and coordinated responses. The benefits of an automatic aid agreement include:
1. Faster Response Time: Since units are automatically dispatched based on predefined criteria, response times are generally faster, improving the likelihood of better outcomes in emergencies.
2. Improved Coordination: With automatic dispatching, there is greater predictability and organization between departments, reducing confusion during a high-stress emergency.
3. Resource Optimization: Fire and EMS services can share resources like personnel, equipment, and apparatus in a way that maximizes efficiency and reduces redundancy.
4. Coverage for Overwhelmed Services: If one jurisdiction is already handling a major incident and is unable to respond quickly, automatic aid ensures a prompt response without the need for additional requests.
Enhanced Interoperability: The pre-established procedures allow agencies to work seamlessly together, making it easier to handle complex emergencies that require multi-jurisdictional coordination.
Key Differences and Benefits Comparison:
• Response Speed: Automatic aid provides faster responses since there’s no delay in requesting help, whereas mutual aid may take longer due to the need for requests and approvals. This also takes longer because a call must be made from one Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) to another.
• Control: Mutual aid gives jurisdictions more control over when and what resources they request, whereas automatic aid dispatches resources automatically based on predetermined algorithms recommended by the Emergency Fire Dispatch (EFD) or Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) system. These response packages and response box sequences are also preprogrammed based on call type and severity. For example, a 5-acre grass fire would get more resources than a small median fire; a multi-story apartment or commercial building fire would get more resources than an outside shed or single-family residential structure fire.
• Predictability: Automatic aid agreements lead to more predictable and coordinated operations, while mutual aid offers more flexibility but with less predictability.
In summary, an Automatic Aid Agreement offers more rapid and seamless responses, making it ideal for areas that experience frequent emergencies or where response times are critical. A Mutual Aid Agreement, on the other hand, provides more flexibility and control, making it valuable in situations where assistance needs are unpredictable, and resources can be allocated as required and requested. Both agreements can complement each other depending on the operational needs and resources available.
Examples of Mutual Aid: San Marcos Fire benefits from our existing mutual aid agreement at large wildland/brush fires when we call upon units from New Braunfels, Canyon Lake, Seguin, and North Hays to assist. We also use mutual aid to backfill our fire stations when all of our resources are operating on a single incident or multiple incidents occurring at the same time. We give mutual aid to our neighbors, such as South Hays, Seguin, and Wimberly when they need additional resources on a structure fire or when they need a specific piece of equipment that we have, such as one of our aerial apparatus or our heavy rescue/light/air apparatus.
The City’s current Mutal Aid agreement includes the following entities:
1. Hays County Emergency Services District 1 (North Hays EMS)
2. Caldwell/Hays Emergency Services District 1 (Chisholm Trail Fire - Rescue)
3. Hays County Emergency Services District 2 (Buda Fire Department - EMS)
4. Comal County Emergency Services District 2 (Canyon Lake Fire/EMS)
5. Hays County Emergency Services District 3 (South Hays Fire Department)
6. Comal County Emergency Services District 3 (Canyon Lake Fire/EMS)
7. Hays County Emergency Services District 4 (Wimberley Fire Department)
8. Hays County Emergency Services District 5 (Kyle Fire Department)
9. Hays County Emergency Services District 6 (North Hays Fire - Rescue)
10. Hays County Emergency Services District 7 (Wimberley EMS)
11. Hays County Emergency Services District 8 (Buda Fire Department)
12. Lockhart Fire Department
13. New Braunfels Fire Department
14. San Marcos/Hays County EMS
15. Seguin Fire/EMS
The following jurisdictions or entities have expressed interest in signing our updated agreement; others may join later by executing the agreement:
1. Hays County Office of Emergency Services
2. Caldwell/Hays County Emergency Services District No. 1 (Travis County Fire - Rescue)
3. Blanco Emergency Services District No. 1 (Blanco Fire Department - EMS)
4. Blanco Emergency Services District No. 2 (Blanco Fire Department - EMS)
5. Caldwell County Emergency Services District No. 2 (Maxwell Fire Department)
6. Travis County Emergency Services District No. 3 (Oak Hill Fire Department)
7. Travis County Emergency Services District No. 5 (Manchaca Fire Department)
8. Travis County Emergency Services District No. 6 (Lake Travis Fire - Rescue)
9. Hays County Emergency Services District No. 9
10. Johnson City Fire Department
11. Round Mountain Volunteer Fire Department
12. York Creek Volunteer Fire Department
Council Committee, Board/Commission Action:
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Alternatives:
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Recommendation:
Staff recommends approval of this resolution.