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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-12-12 A15 ORDERFERRIS, DEARRORN & WILLEY COun'Ser,ORsnrLnW JOSEPH L FENN/S I ITONORTNMA/.\STREET D RBOM' N RENEE WILrzis Aa B"601 MtR/£E HANS£N /I x£R MAP'£WIy06M TE4IHONR \ SO:.HRll66 f�L666(MLNEouu r4Yl0LMR13}0 January 12, 2001 Norman S. Heitmann ill, Esq. Thomas A. Russell, Esq. Bangor City Hall FARRELL, ROSENBLATT & RUSSELL 73 Harlow Street P. O. Box 738 Bangor, ME 04401 Bangor, ME 04402-0738 Wayne Foote, Esq. FOOTE & TEMPLE P. O. Box 1576 Bangor, ME 04402-1576 RE: Mutual Aid Agreement for Penobscot County Dear Nona, Wayne, and Tom: Enclosed please find a copy of the attested copy of DEC2000-A15 Passed by the Brewer City Council December 12, 2000, authorizing the City Manager and Fire Chief to sign the Mutual Aid Agreement for Penobscot County, together with a copy of the signed Agreement. Very trul'/�yy yours, FEEARBORN & WILLEY JAD/jk Joel A. Dearborn encs. /6N �✓�L"/lGl/ CITY OF BREWER, MAINE IN MY COUNCIL ASSEMBLED DEC2000-A15 December 12, 2000 TITLE: ORDER, AUTHORIZE MUTUAL AID AGREEMENTS OF ORGANIZED FIRE DEPARTMENTS FOR PENOBSCOT COUNTY. filed December 6, 2000 by Marley DeRe WHEREAS, pursum[ to Title 30-MAS.A § 2201 and § 2156, municipal officers may autLor their fire departvxarcs to aid inextinguishing fres or assist in other emergenciesm other muaicipalifes; and WHEREAS, the Penobscot County Fire Chiefs' Association has developed a adtual aid agreerevt providing for cooperation suit support among member the departments in assisting one another in extinguishing fees or aid in other emergencies; and WHEREAS, it is the sense ofthe Brewer City Council that the Brewer Fie Department's participation it ibis mutual aid agreement would be berefcial to the citizens ofthe City of Brewer; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDERED, that the Brewer City Council, on behalf ofthe City of Brewer, herewith authorizes the City of Brewer's participation in this mutual aid agreement; and FURTHER ORDERED, that the City Manager and the Fire Chief are herewith authorimd to sign this agreement, st copy of which is attached in this order and made apart hereof, on behalf of the City of Brewer. Decmba, 13,200 T7as ft a nae=Iwucadropy fan o paneAby iu dmw wm file CaryCaaun/cIilfWa alhea regular meeengheldon Nvday, D mb®11,1000 m Which thwaQmm�bvrfw m�y���—� a bee Wisp, strait. city Ci Y &xwer' iiia Maitre MUTUAL AID AGREEMENT of ORGANIZED FT for PENOBSCOT COUNTY THIS AGREEMENT made by and between "contracting fire departments" as subsequently defined, by which each signatory party binds itself to the best of its ability to carry out the functions of a 'requesting fire department- as circumstances demand. WHEREAS, BY VIRTUE of 30-A M.R.S.A. Sec. 2201 and 3156, the parties by their Municipal officers, may authorize their departments to aid in exfinguishing fires or aid in other emeLgencies in other municipalities. NOW, THEREFORE, pursuant to 30-A M.R.S.A. Sec. 2201 and 3156, the Parties by their Municipal Officers hereby resolve that their fire departments are authorized to give such aid, and in furtherance of this resolve, the parties agree as follows: ARTICLE I — DEFINITIONS A contracting fire department shall consist of a city, town, or any other political subdivision of the State of Maine, an agency of the State of Maine or of the United States of America, or an organized volunteer fire association. Such contracting fire department shall be organized on a permanent basis with responsible officers with authority to commit their organization by signature, and when appropriate by corporate seal, to abide by the terms of this agreement. Such contracting fire department shall possess and maintain personnel and equipment as outlined in ARTICLE II, the minimum requirements which, in the opinion of the Penobscot County Fire Chiefs' Association, can render aid to a requesting contracting unit in case of an emergency. A contracting fire department must serve an area with definite boundaries. If a municipality is not served by a fire department solely operated by or for the governing body of that municipality, the fire department providing such service shall do so under a legal contract or resolution. When a fire department's service arca involves one or more municipalities, a contract should be executed with each municipality served. THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT SUBSTITUTE FOR, OR SUPERSEDE ANY EXISTING MUTUAL AID AGREEMENTS BETWEEN ANY MUNICIPALITIES REGARDING FIRE PROTECTION. ARTICLE D _ MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS Contracting fire departments shall meet the following minimum standards: a. All firefighters shall meet the equipment, safer', and training standards promulgated by OSHA, Maine Department of Labor, and Title 30-A M.R.S.A. Sections 3771 through 3778, insofar as the jurisdictions of these cited agencies pertain to fire departments. Furthermore, all interior structural and attack firefighters shall meet the minimum State of Maine interior firefighting requirements. b. At least one of the following types of apparatus shall be available from each contracting fire department: Tanker: At least 500- gallon (1000 gal. recommended) 250gpm pump Minimum 2 Ya' discharges with male NPSH threads or NST to NPSH adapters Pumper: 500gpm capacity pump 500 gallon booster tank 1,200 ft. of 2 '/a' or larger supply hose 400 ft. of 1 'A' and/or 1 b' hose All apparatus shall be in compliance with N.F.P.A. 1901, Pumper Fire Apparatus C. All foe apparatus shall be equipped with a 2 -way FM radio with the state fire frequency (154.310) County tactical frequency (154.299) recommended. d. Each contracting fire department shall maintain a training Program and records of such training in accordance with current N.F.P.A. and State of Maine standards. ARTICLE III — OBLIGATIONS Section I — In the event that in the judgment of the Fire Chief or any other officer in charge of the fire department of any contracting unit, a fire or other emergency is occurring or is about to occur in their municipality of such magnitude that it cannot be adequately controlled by local firefighting equipment and personnel, said officer shall call on the closest contracting unit to furnish available firefighting equipment and personnel for use; either a. In combating the fire or other emergency, or b. As a standby reserve to meet all other calls that may occur before the local firefighting force is free to handle them. The foregoing shall not preclude said officer from calling on other contracting units if the closest contracting unit is unavailable or may not have the personnel or equipment necessary to respond to the fire or other emergency for which assistance is needed. In all cases, however, said officer shall endeavor to call on other contracting units on the basis of geographic proximity. Section 2 - In the event of regional training, the Fire Chief or other officer in charge may request, in advance, a contracting fire department to furnish available firefighting equipment and personnel for use to respond to calls during the regional training. Section 3 - Upon receipt of such call, the fire department shall furnish such equipment and personnel, a's may be reasonably available, for the stricken municipality, except that said aiding fire department shall always be permitted to retain sufficient firefighting equipment and personnel to fight any fire or meet any emergency within its own boundaries that may be reasonably anticipated. Section 4 - Whenever any contracting unit responds to a fire or emergency in another municipality, all companies shall report to the Chief or incident commander of the requesting contracting unit and receive an assignment. The aiding fire department shall operate under the direction of the Chief or incident commander of the requesting contracting unit until dismissed; provided, however, if the commanding officer of the department Providing aid believes the department's equipment and/or personnel are at risk, said officer may, after notifying the Chief or incident commander of the requesting contract unit, withdraw said equipment and/or personnel from the scene. Each individual company shall operate under the immediate supervision of its own officers who shall be responsible for the safety of their crew. Section 5 - Responsibilities a. Each contracting fire department is responsible for damages to and loss of its own equipment, except for damage or loss caused by the negligence or fault of the other contracting fire department b. Each contracting fire department will provide workers compensation insurance to cover its own personnel for compensable injuries arising out of aid rendered under this agreement. Each party will maintain sufficient liability insurance on its vehicles and other liability insurance consistent with the limits on liability in the Maine Tort Claims Act. C. Each contracting fire department will be responsible for the legal consequences of its own negligence to the men, Provided by law. It is understood that any liability to third parties caused by the negligence or fault of the Chief or incident commander of the contracting fire department requesting aid shall, to all extent possible, be the responsibility of the contracting fire department requesting aid. d. Whenever a contracting f e department responds [o any call, the contracting fire department shall follow the written Protocol established by the Board of Directors of the Penobscot County -Fire Chiefs'Association. e. A contracting entity which is asked to respond shall in no event be liable to the requesting department or third parties for its failure to respond to a request. Section 6 - Services performed by any party to this agreement shall be rendered without cost or reimbursement to any other party of this agreement' however, nothing herein shall prevent any party from seeking reimbursement for the cost of fighting forest fires, reimbursement for hazardous materials incidents billed directly to carriers or facilities. Nothing herein shall prohibit contracting fire departments from directly billing patients and/or insurance carriers for emergency medical services. ARTICLE IV - UNINTENDED LIABILITY No clause or provision of this agreement, including but not limited to the responsibilities listed in Article III, Section 5, above, is intended to create or provide any cause of action or remedy to any person not a party to this contract or to negate any immunity otherwise available to any contracting fue department or its members. ARTICLE V - GENERAL PROVISIONS Section I - A request for mutual aid assistance pursuant to an individual aid agreement shall have priority over any request made pursuant to this agreement. Section 2 - Each contracting fire department shall annually provide proof of insurance to the Board of Directors of the Penobscot County Fire Chiefs' Association which shall be non -cancelable without ten (10) days notice of cancellation being required to be sent to the Board of Directors. The minimum level of insurance coverage required of a contracting fire department shall be determined by the Board of Directors of the Association. Section 3 - The Board of Directors of the Penobscot County Fire Chiefs' Association shall adopt a protocol to be implemented by requesting and responding fire departments under the terms of this agreement by June 1, 2000. Section 4 - This Agreement is not a request for nor an authorization of any type of automatic aid. Section 5 - No Emergency Medical Services (EMS) are contemplated under the terms of this Agreement. ARTICLE VI - AMENDMENTS AND DELETIONS A. These articles, or any section thereunder, may be amended or deleted at any meeting, specifically called for in writing, seven (7) days in advance, for that purpose by the Board of Directors of the Penobscot County Fire Chiefs' Association. B. These amendments or deletions would be effective only upon ratification by a majority vote of members of the Penobscot County Fire Chiefs' Association. C. Ail amendments or deletions must be accepted by the governing body of each participating city, town, political subdivision, agency of the State of Maine, United States of America, or a volunteer fire department in order to be effective. ARTICLE VII - TERMINATION Any signatory to this agreement may terminate its participation in said agreement upon thirty (30) days written notice to the Penobscot County Fire Chiefs'Association. ARTICLE VDT - PENALTY The willful failure to respond to a call as provided herein or the failure to maintain a standard for preparedness satisfactory to the Board of Directors of the Penobscot County Fire Chiefs' Association, may be cause for loss of standing as a contracting fire department; and the members of the Penobscot County Fire Chiefs' Association, after hearing with due notice to parties in interest, shall have the authority to determine whether such penalty shall be imposed. If the members of the Penobscot County Fire Chiefs' Association determine that such penalty shall be imposed, then the contracting fire department which is in default under this memorandum of understanding shall have no further rights or obligations under this memorandum of understanding, and shall be so informed, in writing by the President of the Penobscot County Fire Chiefs' Association. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this ru instment as ry ns J ,yg9g_�eel Represen&ng the To //City fBR6"P r,. 6.3r'� Y. Fire Official Town Otficiliy 0 4 �Z_� Notary Public P/7WIci9 L. ta-4�est..e/y�.r..�; �9, a ooh V