Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer — Lesson 24

Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer — Lesson 24 Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer, 4th Edition Chapter 24 — Interagency and Intergovernmental Cooperation

Learning Objectives 1. Select facts about internal aid agreements. 2. Identify the types of external aid agreements. 3. Select from a list the items that should be included in a formal intergovernmental agreement. (Continued) Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer

Learning Objectives 4. Recall facts about jurisdictional authority. 5. Identify the components of area contingency plans. 6. Select from a list the criteria for declaring a federal distaster. (Continued) Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer

Learning Objectives 7. Recall the benefits of the National Response Plan. 8. Identify representative federal agencies that may interact with the fire and emergency services organization in the U.S. or Canada. 9. Select facts about areas that the company officer may be involved in during emergency management activities. Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer

Internal Aid Agreements • Provide additional resources to the fire and emergency services organization • May be a simple function of the local government and not require a written document (Continued) Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer

Internal Aid Agreements • Examples of internal resources • Street department • Public works • Law enforcement • Fire and emergency services department • Emergency medical services Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer

Considerations When Providing Internal Aid • Is situation hazardous or life threatening? • Should response include warning devices? • What tools and equipment are required? • Who is responsible for or in charge of the situation? • Will the unit be taken out-of-service during the assignment? Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer

Building Strong Relationships Between Internal Aid Departments • Treat others with courtesy, respect, and dignity. • Officer positive comments and give compliments sincerely. • Handle complaints in private and tactfully. • Never make derogatory remarks. • Comply within the guidelines of the organization. • Follow the Golden Rule. Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer

Automatic Aid • Formal, written agreement between jurisdictions that share a common boundary • Put into effect by communication center • Occurs whenever certain predetermined conditions occur (Continued) Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer

Automatic Aid • Company officer’s responsibilities: • Determine proper radio frequency • Determine location of command post • Report to IC • Adhere to personnel accountability system (Continued) Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer

Automatic Aid • If company officer is in charge of automatic aid incident, responsibilities include: • Requesting all responding units acknowledge they are on the assigned radio frequency • Assigning units based on arrival time and capabilities • Establishing and communicating the location of staging areas Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer

Mutual Aid • A reciprocal agreement between two or more fire and emergency services organizations • Defines how the organizations will provide resources in various situations and how the actions of the shared resources will be monitored and controlled • Does not guarantee a response; jurisdictions can deny a request Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer

Outside Aid • Similar to mutual aid, except that payment is made by one agency to the other • Is normally addressed through a signed contract • May be with a jurisdiction or with a commercial vendor Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer

Items to be Included in a Formal Intergovernmental Agreement • Agency authority and responsibility • Funding and reimbursement procedures • Response procedures • Communication systems, protocol, and procedures • Preincident planning and training • Postincident evaluations • Notification procedures Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer

Jurisdictional Authority • Jurisdiction – Who is in charge here • Vertical jurisdiction • Occurs when multiple levels of government are involved • Horizontal jurisdiction • Occurs when an incident covers multiple jurisdictions (Continued) Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer

Jurisdictional Authority Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer

Area Contingency Plans • Are recommended by FEMA to prepare for responding to multijurisdictional incidents • Components • Jurisdictional responsibilities • Roles of all levels in the unified command (UC) • Relationship between federal on-site coordinators and other officials who have decision-making authority but are not part of the UC (Continued) Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer

Area Contingency Plans • Components (continued) • Financial agreements • Information dissemination • Communications • Training and exercising • Logistics • Lessons learned Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer

Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act • Established the programs and processes for the U.S. federal government to provide disaster and emergency assistance to states, local governments, tribal nations, individuals, and qualified private nonprofit organizations. Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer

Declaring a Federal Disaster • If an event is beyond the combined response capabilities of the state and affected local governments; and • If based on the findings of a joint federal-state-local Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA), the damages are of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant assistance under the Act. Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer

National Response Plan • Purpose — To integrate federal government prevention, preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation plans into one all-discipline, all-hazard approach to domestic incident management Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer

Benefits of theNational Response Plan • Establish a common, agreed-upon set of goals • Reduce jurisdictional conflicts • Create a forum to critique the team’s performance in incident management • Create a controlled environment for discussion of operational issues (Continued) Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer

Benefits of the National Response Plan • Encourage sharing of resources • Build personal and professional relationships between participants • Increase understanding and respect between agencies Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer

Federal Agencies With Which U.S. Fire and Emergency Services May Interact • Department of Homeland Security (DHS) • Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) • Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) • Department of Agriculture, Forest Service • Department of the Interior (DOI) • Department of Defense (DoD) (Continued) Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer

Federal Agencies With Which U.S. Fire and Emergency Services May Interact • Department of Justice (DOJ) • Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) • National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) • Department of the Treasury • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer

Federal Agencies With Which Canadian Fire and Emergency Services May Interact • Canadian Transport Emergency Centre (CANUTEC) • Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection and Emergency Preparedness (OCIPEP) • Joint Emergency Preparedness Program (JEPP) • Department of National Defense and the Canadian Forces Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer

Areas Company Officer May be Involved During Emergency Management Activities • Planning • Training • Implementing • Monitoring • Evaluating • Revising Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer

Summary • Company officers will be in contact with representatives from other agencies, organizations, and governmental bodies often during their careers. • Interaction with other agencies and jurisdictions must include planning, training, and practice. (Continued) Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer

Summary • When working with other agencies and jurisdictions, company officers must be prepared to establish ICS, recognize and adhere to jurisdictional authority, and to request the correct assistance from the appropriate agency or governmental entity. Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer

Discussion Questions 1. What is an internal aid agreement? 2. Name the three types of external aid agreements. 3. What items should a formal intergovernmental agreement include? 4. Compare and contrast vertical and horizontal jurisdiction. (Continued) Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer

Discussion Questions 5. What are the components of an ACP? 6. What are the criteria for declaring a federal disaster? 7. What are the benefits of the NRP? 8. Describe the areas a company officer may be involved in during emergency management activities. Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer

Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer — Lesson 24