WESTFIELD – The City Council voted to accept a state law that formalizes mutual aid agreements which emergency responders have had in place informally with neighboring communities for decades.
The council, on a unanimous voice vote, adopted provisions of Massachusetts General Law (MGL), Chapter 40, Section 4J which extends the city’s mutual aid capability statewide.
The law extends mutual aid beyond police and fire mutual aid and states:
“There shall be a statewide public safety mutual aid agreement to create a framework for the provision of mutual aid assistance among the parties to the agreement in the case of a public safety incident. The assistance to be provided under the agreement shall include, but not be limited to, fire service, law enforcement, emergency medical services, transportation, communications, public works, engineering, building inspection, planning and information assistance, resource support, public health, health and medical services, search and rescue assistance and any other resource, equipment or personnel that a party to the agreement may request or provide in anticipation of, or in response to, a public safety incident.”
Ward 1 Councilor Christopher Keefe, who as Legislative & Ordinance Committee chairman introduced the motion Thursday night, said “this just formalizes” the mutual aid agreements already in place.
“It smooths out jurisdictional and financial issues,” Keefe said Monday. “If there is a forest fire and we need equipment that we don’t have, like an all-terrain pumper, but another communities does, we can borrow it and personnel to work it.”
Keefe said the state law also defines liability between the host community and those providing mutual assistance for injuries to personnel or equipment damage.
“It’s all spelled out in the law,” Keefe said. “The law goes into effect 30 days after the City Council President (Brian Sullivan) and Mayor (Daniel M.) Knapik sign the agreement, which should happen by the end of January.”
Emergency Management Director Jim Wiggs said that the law also provides the city with a list of equipment available in other communities which have adopted the local option of the mutual aid law statewide.
“The advantage is that in the event of a major emergency and we need equipment, we can get it from across the state,” Wiggs said.
There is a list of equipment inventory and points of contact available to the city, much of it coordinated through the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency located in Framingham, Wiggs said.
“The cost of personnel and equipment is contained in guidelines already in place under MEMA policies,” Wiggs said. “Every way I’ve looked at it, there is no downside.”
