FY2002-24 Fire & Rescue Mutual Aid Agreement Between KIB, Fire Protection Area No. 1 (Bayside), Women’s Bay Service Area, Airport Fire Protection and the USCG Integrated Support Command Kodiak (ISC Kodiak).~ - c~OD2-2~
FIRE AND RESCUE MUTUAL AID AGREEMENT
This Agreement is made and entered into by and between the Kodiak Island Borough
(KIB), Alaska, which is referred to as Fire Protection Area No. 1 ("Bayside"), Women's
Bay Service Area and the Airport Fire Protection District, and the United States Coast
Guard Integrated Support Command Kodiak ("ISC Kodiak"). The Integrated Support
Command, Bayside, Women's bay and the Airport Fire Protection Districts are
collectively referred to as parties.
RECITALS
(a) The Parties and ISC Kodiak acknowledge the possibility that fires or other
public emergencies may occur within their respective jurisdictions which could reach
such proportions as to be impossible to control with their own local equipment,
personnel, and resources and therefore find it appropriate that this Agreement be entered
into for the mutual protection of life and property pursuant to AS 18.70.150-160 (relating
to the adoption of mutual fire aid agreements), Article X, § 13 of the Alaska Constitution
(authorizing intergovernmental agreements for cooperative or joint administration of
municipal functions or powers), and 14 USC, Section 141 (relating to cooperation with
other agencies).
(b) The parties are desirous of entering into this Fire and Rescue Mutual Aid
Agreement in order to memorialize their current understandings and expectations with
regard to the furnishing of fire fighting and emergency services outside the normal and
regular area of service by each party.
NOW, THEREFORE, for and in consideration of the mutual promises, covenants,
terms and conditions herein contained the parties agree as follows:
1. Furnishing of Emergency Fire
Fighting and Rescue Assistance
(a) Each party agrees to respond, to the
extent it deems reasonably prudent and
possible, to requests for assistance fi.om the
other and to furnish fire fighting and
emergency rescue services, utilizing paid
and volunteer fire fighters, and fire fighting
apparatus and equipment owned and
operated by each of the parties. The
judgment as to whether or not it is
reasonably prudent and possible to respond
to a given request and, if so, to what extent
and with what resources, shall rest
exclusively with the party from whom such
assistance is sought. Both parties hereby
formally disavow any intention to create,
through the execution of this or any other
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agreement or through any course of past or
future conduct, a binding contractual right to
require the other to respond, or to respond at
a particular level of resources, to requests
for assistance.
(b) The term "request for assistance"
shall mean a request for fire fighting or
emergency aid made by the fire chief, or
other personnel who have been authorized
by the chief of the requesting fire
department to make such a request.
2. Determination of Priority
It is mutually understood and agreed that
the dispatch of any personnel or equipment
in response to a request for assistance shall
be subordinate to the needs and
responsibilities of the responding fire
department as determined by its fire chief
and that his or her judgement as to the level
of resources which should be withheld in
order to respond to any actual or potential
requests for assistance or public
emergencies within the geographical area
regularly served by the responding party
shall be conclusive. No violation of this
Agreement shall be considered to have
occurred if, for any reason, in the judgment
of the responding fire chief, a response to a
request for assistance made by the other
party to this Agreement might jeopardize the
fire or other protection provided to the
geographical area regularly served by the
responding party.
3. Non-liability
Without limiting the generality of the
foregoing it is explicitly agreed that a party
to this Agreement shall not be responsible or
liable for any loss or claims which may
result from a failure to respond to a request
for assistance received from the other party,
or from an alleged failure to respond in a
prompt or timely manner.
4. Operational Control
'(a) Control of Fire Fighting
The fire chief of the party requesting
assistance, or his authorized representative,
shall have the sole responsibility for
conducting all fire fighting or emergency
operations at the scene; however, such
requesting fire chief may delegate
management authority over all or any part of
such operations to any responding fire chief
as provided in (b) below.
(b) Emergency Scene Management
The requesting fire chief, or his
authorized representative, may request that a
responding fire chief, or his authorized
representative, assume management
authority over the control and direction of
all or any part of the fire fighting operations
at the fire or emergency; however, the
requesting fire chief shall not, by
relinquishing such control, be relieved of his
overall control and responsibility for the
operation.
(c) Control of Personnel
Notwithstanding any other provision
herein, the officers, fire fighters and other
personnel of each fire fighting organization,
both the responding or the requesting units,
shall remain under the control and direction
of their own fire chief or his authorized
representative and shall not become the
agent, employees, or representatives of any
other party.
(d) Right to Protect Personnel and
Equipment
Each fire chief, both responding and
requesting, and their authorized
representative, shall have and retain the right
to refuse to commit their personnel or
equipment to any position which is
considered unreasonably dangerous to life of
any of their personnel, another person, or to
equipment. A fire chief, or his authorized
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representative, shall have the sole and
exclusive right and discretion to determine
the extent and imminence of any such
danger.
5. Costs and Expense
Each party shall be responsible for all of
its own costs or expense, incurred in
maintaining its equipment, insurance
coverage, apparatus, paying salaries, and
any and all other items of cost or expense
associated with providing services pursuant
to this Agreement; provided, however, that
expendable fire fighting material used or
expended by a responding party in its
activities at the scene, such as fire fighting
foam, shall be replaced by the party that
issued the request for assistance if the
responding party expending such materials
serves a written claim therefore upon the
requesting party not later than sixty (60)
days after such materials were used or
expended.
6. Damage and Loss
With the exception of replacement of
expendable fire fighting materials as
provided above, any loss or damage to fire
apparatus or other equipment of the
responding party incurred or arising out of
activities in responding to a request for
assistance pursuant to this Agreement,
including any loss which may occur while
the responding party is traveling to the
scene, working at the scene, or returning
therefrom, shall be the responsibility of, and
shall be paid by, such party responding to
the request for assistance.
7. Immunities to Continue
This Agreement is not intended to, and it
shall not be construed to, waive, relinquish,
alter, amend or vitiate in any manner
whatsoever, the privileges or immunities
otherwise provided by law to either of the
parties hereto or to any of their officers,
employees, volunteers or other agents,
whether in the course of responding to a
request for assistance under this Agreement
or otherwise. Each party and all such
individuals shall have and retain all
privileges and immunities otherwise
applicable to the performance of the same or
similar functions within the party's own
area.
8. Not Employees. or Agents
Nothing in this Agreement shall be
construed to render or establish any officer,
employee or volunteer of any one of the
parties the agent, employee, representative
or volunteer of any of the other parties and
all such personnel shall be and remain, for
all purposes and at all times, the personnel
of the party providing such personnel.
9. No Warranty
By entering into this Agreement, or
taking any action pursuant to it, neither party
is making any representation or warranty,
whether express or implied, concerning the
training or reliability of its personnel or that
of the other party, or with respect to the
safety, durability or reliability of its fire
fighting apparatus or equipment or that of
the other party. Each party expressly
disclaims any such express or implied
approval or warranty.
10. No Duty to Inhabitants or Third
Parties
This Agreement shall not be construed
as creating or giving rise to any duties on the
part of either party toward the inhabitants of
the geographical area regularly served by the
other or to the owners of property within
such area. The parties hereby disclaim any
intention of creating third party beneficiaries
to this Agreement.
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11. Procedures
The fire chiefs of the parties shall
establish the manner and method of
requesting assistance for fire or other
emergency response under this Agreement.
Each party shall develop and maintain a
commtmication system, which will facilitate
the procedures agreed upon.
12. Hazardous Materials
Assistance for any emergency involving
hazardous materials or hazardous wastes
stored at the ISC Kodiak, or in the KIB will
be in accordance with the Terms of this
agreement. ISC Kodiak will provide a copy
of its Hazardous Waste Contingency Plan to
the borough Fire Departments.
This plan will be maintained in the files of
the Kodiak Island Borough, Local
Emergency Planning Committee. Any such
plans prepared by the Borough, or persons
within the Borough Fire Department's
jurisdiction, will similarly be provided to the
ISC Kodiak Fire Department. Periodic
Training in hazardous materials and
hazardous waste emergency response will be
scheduled on mutually agreeable basis.
13. Effective Date and Term
This Agreement shall become effective
immediately upon being approved by both
the Kodiak Island Borough and the
Commanding Officer, USCG Integrated
Support Command or other appropriate U.S.
Coast Guard Official. This Agreement shall
be terminated by either party by providing
written notice to the other party not less than
thirty (30) days prior to the desired date of
termination.
Fire Protection District No. 1
Recommended for Approval:
United States Coast Guard
Integrated Support Command
Recommended for Approval:
Assistant Fire Chigf (Acting Chief)
Dated:
Russell Toms
Fire Chief _ l?_~
Dated:
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Women's Bay Service Area
Recommended for Approval:
Dale Rice
Fire Chief
Dated:
Approved:
Approved:
Pat Carlson
Kodiak Island Borough Manager
Dated:
Attest:
Kodiak Isl .and l~orough Clerk
Dated: ,~,~1
0
Commanding Officer, USCG ISC Kodiak
Dated: ,5'~ ZoCrg_
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