Commissioners discuss mutual-aid wording after fire chiefs press for clearer incident-command language

Linn County commissioners and Lane County fire officials asked staff to revise draft mutual-aid agreements to make clearer who has incident command when county and city departments respond to the same fire.

The change matters because county firefighters sometimes arrive in greater numbers than local volunteer crews. Randy Hagewald, Lane County Rural Fire and Emergency Management, told the board he read the draft and found the current language “vague” on which jurisdiction or department should assume command when units from multiple municipalities respond. “If we do have an issue where we want to be in incident command, we need to be having that where we can spell it out in that city's contract so that it's —” Hagewald said.

The commissioners and Hagewald agreed the draft can serve as a starting point but should be discussed and tailored with each city. Hagewald recommended meeting individually with the chiefs of Linn Valley, LaCine and Pleasanton — the county’s three city fire departments — and returning a revised draft that reflects local preferences and addresses concerns about firefighter safety. “If we had a fire and we have 15 or 20 Linn County firefighters on scene and that city has one or two, … if we're the majority on scene, we should be in incident command,” Hagewald said during the discussion.

Commissioners and staff agreed to take the draft to city chiefs for comment and to propose a shorter contract term (two to three years rather than a longer period) so the agreements can be revisited regularly. No ordinance or formal adoption occurred; staff were directed to consult the affected cities and bring back recommended language.

The item arose during a routine departmental update and will return to the board after the county and city fire chiefs have reviewed suggested language.