Wake Forest fire official raises questions about new reimbursement language in Wake County mutual aid plan

Ed Barrett, operations battalion chief (B shift) for the Wake Forest Fire Department and the town’s emergency-management collateral duty officer, briefed the board on the Wake County Emergency Operations Plan and mutual aid agreement.

Barrett described the agreement as a bidirectional resource document that allows municipalities to request county resources during emergencies and also to provide resources to other communities. He explained the request process — verbal requests can be made immediately but must be followed by an official written request specifying services, equipment, personnel, dates, locations and points of contact — and said the town has both requested and provided resources under similar arrangements in recent years, including firefighting and water-rescue deployments out of county.

Barrett flagged newly added billing and reimbursement language toward the end of the county document. After calling Wake County emergency management director Josh Crichton for clarification, Barrett told the board the county’s explanation was that the language mirrors state and federal documents and was not intended to result in routine charges to Wake Forest for county resources. Barrett reported the county representative told him, "We don't intend to [charge us]," but he recommended the town seek written clarification to ensure that the clause would not be used to bill Wake Forest in ordinary mutual-aid exchanges.

Barrett also urged the board to consider expanding the town’s emergency-management capacity, including hiring a full-time emergency manager. He noted the town now has mobile communications capacity and supplies to operate independently for about 72 hours, but that additional planning resources would aid preparedness for large-scale incidents and for keeping track of regulated facilities under the SARA (Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization) reporting requirements.

Commissioners pressed for clarity on when reimbursement could apply. Town attorney and staff noted the clause is bidirectional and that reimbursements could also flow to the town when Wake Forest sends resources to other jurisdictions. Barrett and staff said disasters declared by the governor or president typically carry automatic reimbursement pathways; for other incident types the town should seek written assurance from the county about intent and application of the billing language.

Barrett illustrated mutual aid use with recent examples: Wake Forest requested county assistance for a hazardous-materials exposure at a vehicle fire where pallets of muriatic acid created hazardous clouds, and the town both provided and received water-rescue and firefighting resources in out-of-county responses this year. He recommended staff follow up with Wake County to secure clearer, written guidance on the reimbursement clause and presented staffing and preparedness as items for continued board consideration.

Ending: Staff agreed to raise the board’s concerns with Wake County emergency management and to seek formal clarification of the billing/payment language; commissioners asked for written intent if the county does not intend to charge the town in routine mutual-aid circumstances.