Spook Hill Neighborhood Action Assoc.

Fire Station 216 Emergency Response Guidelines

When Will Mesa Fire Station 216 Respond to County Areas?

Fire Station 216 on McDowell Road was established to provide fire and medical response to residents of Mesa. Rural-Metro is responsible to protect the County even though the Mesa station may be closer. Phone calls from County residents will automatically be routed to Rural-Metro and City residents will be connected to the Mesa dispatcher. However, the two departments have a mutual aid agreement. Either department will respond to the other's protection area upon request from the responsible agency, which usually happens only in a life threatening emergency. If you feel that a situation is life threatening, make sure that the dispatcher knows it and be prepared to explain why you fell that is the case. Please refer to the guidelines for assistance and priority setting that are shown below.

Mesa/Rural-Metro Emergency Response Guidelines

Mesa Fire Department Rural-Metro Fire Department

Emergency Response Guidelines

Introduction

Rural-Metro Fire Department and the City of Mesa Fire Department share the common goal to provide the customers they serve with the highest level of service, regardless of jurisdiction. The implementation of Emergency Response Guidelines will support this goal. These guidelines define responsibilities, jurisdiction, and response procedures to coordinate information, resources, and scene management to assure the safe delivery of emergency services.

Identification of Responsibility

Responsibility addresses the primary ethical and legal liability for providing routine and emergency services on a specific incident. Identification of responsibility is determined geographically. The 911 operator initially attempts this in the first seconds of any 911 call. The Alarm center(s) receiving the request(s) for service will attempt to identify the exact location of the incident and determine which agency has jurisdiction. Any confusion on jurisdiction should not delay the dispatch of resources. When in doubt, notify the other agency's alarm room ASAP, if not simultaneously, with the dispatch of initial emergency response unit(s) and in no circumstance should dispatch and response of emergency services be delayed while jurisdiction and responsibility are being determined. Any delay in emergency response may compromise loss of life and/or property. Upon identification of jurisdiction, each agency will cooperate in the mitigation of the incident. For any customer emergency services needs, response time is a critical factor and emergency aid is a resource option for either agency. Ultimate responsibility for service delivery will rest with the agency having geographic jurisdiction.

Emergency Aid

Emergency Aid refers to the request for a neighboring agency to respond in addition to the unit(s) responding from the agency having jurisdiction. The jurisdictional department will continue to respond with event type resource assignments and relieve the emergency aid company(ies) as soon as possible.

Non-emergency requests for service, from the public, will be routed to the agency having jurisdiction and do not warrant emergency aid. Emergency requests for service require reasonable response times to obtain desirable results. On requests for service when the jurisdiction is unknown or questionable, the appropriate level of resources will be dispatched from one or both agencies and fire department members first on the scene will validate the exact location to determine jurisdiction.

Emergency Aid Response Guidelines:
· Emergency Aid Request
· Emergency Aid Channel Assignments
· Command Organization
· Incident and Patient Documentation







Emergency Aid Request

Responding members from either agency may request aid when there is an extended ETA of the first response units. Aid may be requested in the following situations:
1. At the discretion of either responding agency
2. Life threatening situations
While enroute or arrival to the scene, the responsible fire department member should determine the need for additional resources or cancel all but the responsible agency's primary responding unit(s).

Emegency Aid Channel Assignments

When Emergency Aid is requested, the responding unit(s) will be assigned a channel and should acknowledge their response on that channel. The preferred channel on multi-agency incidents is a tactical channel that is designated by Mesa Alarm.

I. A single unit dispatched by Mesa to assist Rural Metro may be assigned to a Rural Metro channel.

II. When multiple units are assigned to assist Rural Metro, Mesa tactical channel 2 or 3 will be assigned by Mesa for all agencies to operate on. When a Mesa tactical channel is not available, Mesa dispatched units may be assigned to the frequency in use by Rural Metro.

III. If a unit comes upon an incident in another jurisdiction, notify the responsible agencies alarm room on that agency's primary dispatch channel. The unit should also report the incident to their alarm. Report the location, incident type, and any special hazards and/or resource needs. The reporting unit should operate on the channel assigned by the agency having jurisdiction until another channel is designated for the incident.


Command Organization

Some incidents will require the most basic command structure while others will require a Unified Command Structure to maintain firefighter safety. At no time should there be two separate command structures operating on the same incident.

"Unified Command" consists of two or more agencies functioning as the Incident Command Staff. A Unified Command will be used on all emergency aid emergency responses where multiple units from different agencies are working together for the delivery of service and two or more chief officers arrive on the scene. Unified Command is part of the standard Incident Management System (IMS) which is designed to expand or contract, as the incident requires.

Mesa Fire Department and Rural Metro Fire Department when operating together on emergency incidents will follow established regional guidelines.

Incident and Patient Documentation

Documentation requirements are different for each agency. The agencies will complete documentation according to their internal documentation requirements. Each agency will cooperate in the exchange of information necessary for the completion of the required documentation. Patient care documentation will be completed in a timely manner and at no time will patient care be compromised. Final responsibility is with the agency in whose jurisdiction the incident occurred.

Mesa Fire/Police Dispatch Priority Guidelines

CITY OF MESA
POLICE/FIRE COMMUNICATIONS CENTER STANDARDS MANUAL

SUBJECT: DISPATCH PRIORITY GUIDELINES SECTION 8 PAGE 2.000

Priority Zero: Simul-select on all police channels, 3 alert tone, immediate dispatch. Delay not to exceed 30 seconds after location of call is learned.

Priority One: Dispatch immediately and in no event more than three (3) minutes from time call location is received.

Note: Priority Zero and One calls are to be dispatched to nearest Mesa police unit regardless of sector, and shall exceed the dispatch guideline.

Priority Two: Delay in dispatch not to exceed 30 minutes from time call is received, if sector units not available.

Priority Three: Up to one (1) hour delay is permissible; however, advise the complainant of possible delay. If call is held over one hour, Communications personnel will recontact the complainant to advise of further delay
.
Note: Any call is automatically a Priority Zero if it involves a confrontation between people which threatens the life or safety of any person.

Any such call with great possibility of death or injury, will be dispatched immediately without respect to its location, if within a mile or two of Mesa City limits. Life threatening calls will be dispatched; however, crimes against property in progress outside the City limits will be dispatched by advising the Sector Sergeant immediately for his decision to dispatch and the number of units to send. Requests by other law enforcement jurisdictions to back them up are not covered by this policy statement. Mutual aid requests are covered elsewhere in this manual.

It is to be understood that when the beat unit is available, all calls will be dispatched in a timely manner regardless of priority. Our primary purpose is to serve the citizens of Mesa and provide timely and accurate information to our police officers. Any question regarding any guideline should be referred to the shift supervisor. Calls will not be held unduly long awaiting the beat or sector unit to return to service.





REVISION NO: REV. EFFECTIVE:
2 7/01/82
3 8/22/83 7