STATEWIDE MUTUAL AID

PRE-RESPONSE CHECKLIST

The following items are requirements for participation and response to a statewide mutual aid request.

All participating departments, districts and agencies should strive towards compliance
Done Follow-up Notes
All fire apparatus responding shall meet the minimal standards of NFPA 1901 regarding the vehicle and its equipment.  All squads re to be of a heavy-duty type design, typically with rescue equipment, extrication equipment, salvage equipment and basic fire and EMS duty equipment.  Ambulances responding within a statewide mutual aid request shall meet minimal licensure requirements of IDPH as an ALS or BLS unit.      
Fire apparatus responding to a statewide mutual aid response (engines, pumpers, ladder/aerial equipment, squads) shall be staffed with at least four and no more than six trained firefighters, with one of the individuals designated as being in charge as a Company Officer.  Brush trucks and tankers require a minimum of two individuals per unit and an individual in charge need not be designated.  All ambulances will be staffed with at least two, but no more than three individuals, each meeting the IDPH licensure requirements to assure an ALS or BLS vehicle's capability.      
Appropriate safety equipment and protective wear shall be with responding units and used when appropriate.      
All departments/districts assigned a response shall do so in the appropriate type of vehicle they are due to respond in.  individuals shall not respond in personally owned vehicles but rather be on the vehicle due to respond.      
All units will follow directions given during the dispatch with mission number provided by IEMA - through RED Center including the main routing of response caravans.  Red Center will advise where authorized refueling and support sites have been established along the designated caravan response routes.  MABAS Divisions and any geographic areas sending units, or directed by dispatch, shall attempt to caravan in as a group rather than respond as individual units.  Response as a package facilitates resource management in the staging area and for command assignments.      
All caravan or individual units shall report in to staging, wherever designated by the host Incident Commander.  Upon arriving in staging, the caravan's representative or individual unit's representative shall report to the Staging Officer in order to log-in and receive direction.  Accountability of units and personnel will be established.  Responding units that by-pass staging shall be relieved of response and assignments and returned to their community.      
Units responding to a statewide mutual aid incident should have the capability to communicate via radio on                , MABAS (NIFERN) prime and                   MABAS fireground frequencies.  All responding units should remain on the MABAS prime (NIFERN) frequency throughout resonse and once in to the staging area.  The staging officer will direct frequency assignments and use for tactical operations.  Plain talk communications will be used - "ten" signals and codes will not be used.      
Speed of response is secondary to providing a sustained operation under a statewide mutual aid incident.  Disaster operations can be expected and units sent to the scene may not be released for days, or in some cases longer.  Assuming this will be the case, responding departments should:      
  • Prior to response, have personnel take personal toiletries, snacks, bottled water, a change of clothes, blankets/pillow, towels, etc.  Prepare themselves for a multi-day operation without relief.
      

  • Departments who have personnel on the scene may wish to prepare a personnel swap-out schedule whereas, deployed individuals are replaced by fresh troops after several days.  Departments who swap personnel out should do so in a group or company and have personnel transported to and from the scene in an official department vehicle.

     
All units responding to a statewide mutual aid incident shall maintain a log, which captures all pertinent activities while assigned to the incident.  Minimum reporting requirements include:      
  • Date and Time of response occurred
      
  • Individuals assigned
      
  • Stops while enroute to the incident for service or re-supply
      
  • Date & time of arrival in staging and Staging Officer's name
      
  • Incidents or assignments the unit dealt with while involved.
      
  • Swap-outs of personnel.
      
  • Expendables used or equipment damaged, lost or left on a scene.
      
  • Date & time released from incident and by whom (name & agency)
      
  • Date & time back in their original community's fire station and released from duty
      
Departments, districts, and agencies that send resources to a statewide incident shall maintain records of the event and a log of all additional or unusual expenses the department incurred as a direct result of the statewide mutual aid response.      
Copies of all such records and logs kept by the department, district, agency and unit responding, shall be copied and summarized by the department, district head.  Each authorized, directed department/district/agency that responded will be provided the appropriate reimbursement forms and directed as to where they should be sent with appropriate documentation.