Title
Fire Department Automatic Aid Agreement (Ordinance S-49233)
Description
Request to authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to enter into an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) for automatic aid with 23 cities, towns, fire districts, and governmental jurisdictions in the Phoenix metropolitan area. If approved, the term of the agreement will be from Dec. 20, 2022, through Dec. 19, 2032.
Report
Summary
The City of Phoenix has been a leader and participant in the automatic aid system since the 1970s and spearheaded a more formalized arrangement amongst the membership in 1997. Today, there are 23 fire response providers that are part of the automatic aid system, which is a system that is unique to the Phoenix metropolitan area. The automatic aid agreement calls for the automatic dispatch of fire apparatus and other fire resources to an emergency incident without regard to jurisdictional boundary.
Standards for Fire Department deployment, suppression, and emergency medical operations of career fire departments, including in Phoenix and surrounding communities, are established by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 1710. The standard addresses response times, numbers of personnel, minimum equipment required on various apparatus, and other critical aspects of fire response. In order to meet NFPA Standard 1710, amendments to the 1997 agreement are proposed to add certain requirements to the levels of apparatus staffing and equipment provided by each participant, in order to meet NFPA Standard 1710.
A 2011 Efficiency Study of the Fire Department, conducted by Management Partners, Inc., recognized the Phoenix Fire Department's current automatic aid system as outstanding and stated, "If this system was diluted, Phoenix as well as other surrounding cities could have to expend more resources to obtain the same level of system performance."
Automatic aid systems result in significant savings to the taxpayers of participating jurisdictions through the sharing of resources and avoiding the need to build redundant capital facilities. In addition, residents also receive a standard level of response across jurisdictional boundaries.
The current Automatic Aid System participants include 23 regional Fire Departments:
Arizona Fire and Medical Authority, Avondale Fire and Medical, Buckeye Fire and Medical, Buckeye Valley Fire District, Chandler Fire, Health & Medical, Daisy Mountain Fire and Medical, El Mirage Fire Department, Goodyear Fire Department, Gilbert Fire Department, Glendale Fire Department, Guadalupe Fire Department, Maricopa Fire Department, Mesa Fire and Medical, Peoria Fire and Medical, Phoenix Fire Department, Queen Creek Fire Department, Rio Verde Fire District, Scottsdale Fire Department, Sun City Fire District, Superstition Fire and Medical District, Surprise Fire and Medical, Tempe Fire and Medical, and Tolleson Fire Department.
Contract Term
The term for the Automatic Aid Agreement will be from Dec. 20, 2022, through Dec. 19, 2032.
Financial Impact
There is no financial impact to the City to authorize the automatic aid agreement.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Assistant City Manager Lori Bays and the Fire Department.