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Public Safety Committee forwards mutual-aid agreements with two volunteer departments to BOMA
Summary
The Public Safety Committee voted to send mutual-aid agreements with Shackle Island Volunteer Fire Department No. 1 and a neighboring volunteer department to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen with a positive recommendation, after discussing scope, automatic responses and limits on city resources.
The Public Safety Committee voted to send mutual-aid agreements with Shackle Island Volunteer Fire Department No. 1 and a neighboring volunteer department to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BOMA) with a positive recommendation.
The agreements would formalize how Hendersonville responds to qualifying calls outside city limits and clarify responsibilities and chains of command. Committee members discussed why the city needs written agreements even after recent state law changes affecting mutual aid.
Steve Frost, who has been involved with the Shackle Island volunteer department, told the committee that Shackle Island’s board agreed at a recent meeting to sign an agreement similar to one previously used with Goodnessville. Chief Bush said the city attorney prepared the agreements and that an insurance carrier had earlier requested a written contract; he added that, despite changes in state law, the agreements remain important to spell out responsibilities and types of calls covered.
Chief Bush told the committee the city would prioritize calls inside Hendersonville and retains the discretion to refuse mutual aid requests when city needs require keeping resources at home. He described how automatic responses would apply to a small number of designated buildings (mostly churches) listed in each agreement and said the agreements differ only in which buildings trigger an automatic response. Dispatch changes under the proposed interlocal framework would require a verbal request from the volunteer department for Hendersonville to respond, except for the locations set for automatic response.
Committee members asked about limits on how many units could leave the city. Chief Bush said, based on past practice and operational assessment, up to half the department’s resources might be committed outside the city under high-threat circumstances, but the city is not obligated to do so and would make those decisions case by case.
Committee member [unnamed] moved that the committee forward both agreements to BOMA with a positive recommendation; another member seconded. The committee recorded aye votes and the motion carried.
The committee’s recommendation now goes to BOMA for final consideration.
