A county-wide consortium of fire departments designed to provide mutual assistance in large-scale emergencies can count Oxford as its newest member.
‘I believe this would be a tremendous boost for the fire department to be a member of this county-wide organization,? said Fire Chief Jack LeRoy. ‘I think you’re going to see, over a period of time, everyone in it.?
Township officials last week voted 6-0 to allow the fire department to join the Oakland County Mutual Aid Association. Of the 42 fire departments in the county, 16 have thus far joined the association.
Under this new association, the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) will be implemented for large-scale incidents such as a tornado strike or collapsed building.
Fire agencies participating in MABAS will receive and provide mutual aid in the form of equipment and manpower according to predetermined response levels based on the number of alarms assigned to an incident.
‘If I call for a second alarm assignment, I’ll automatically get the type of equipment I request without having to look and determine who has what I need on a scene,? LeRoy said.
The nearest fire agency with the resources requested will be summoned to respond by the communications center. All the necessary equipment and manpower will be promptly delivered right to the scene.
No longer will an incident commander have to take valuable time away from managing the scene to plan what department should be called and who has what equipment to send, according to LeRoy.
‘As more and more equipment is needed, with each alarm assignment you’re going to get a minimum of two more departments,? he said. ‘A fifth alarm could mean 10 departments operating (at a scene).?
Being a member of this association will give Oxford immediate access to specialty equipment from anywhere in the county for particularly sensitive situations.
‘For us to purchase the equipment (individually) this group could put together . . . would be hundreds of thousands of dollars and perhaps even in the millions,? LeRoy told the board.
In return, Oxford will be able to help other areas with the equipment it has.
‘Would we be a user of the system as well as a donor?? asked Treasurer Joe Ferrari.
‘I really think it will probably be a two-way street here,? LeRoy replied. ‘It’s a case of give and take. Mutual aid runs both ways. Sometime it’s heavier one way than the other in one year. And the next year, you make it up the other way.?
The cost to join the county association is $1,000 for the first year (2008), $2,000 for the second (2009) and $3,000 for the third (2010) and each year thereafter.
LeRoy noted $1,000 of the $3,000 in annual dues the department already paid to belong to the North Oakland Mutual Aid Association (NOMAA) would be transferred to the county association to cover 2008, resulting in no addition in budgeted fees.
Oxford’s been a member of NOMAA, which consists of 12 northern county fire agencies, since 2004.
It’s anticipated NOMAA will gradually shift its decision-making operation to the county association as it increases in size, according to LeRoy.
The chief said it’s not been decided if eventually all the dues paid to NOMAA will go to the county association, but the money that is paid will benefit everyone.
‘The dues help to offset replacement of supplies and equipment,? said LeRoy, citing Hazardous Materials team’s meters, reagents and vehicles as an example.
Dues paid to the county association could be used as matching dollars for grants to purchase specialty equipment.
‘It allows us to apply for federal grants on a much wider basis,? LeRoy said.
The federal government is much more likely to be awarding grants to a large consortium of fire departments that covers an area the size of the county than to an individual agency serving a single community, according to the chief.
Under NOMAA, the 12 member agencies used combined funding, county assistance and federal grants to create Hazardous Materials and Technical Rescue teams, then train and equip them with specialty equipment and supplies worth more than $2 million.
‘All of this would have been impossible for the individual fire departments to accomplish,? LeRoy noted.