Pasadena Fire Dept. Expected to Renew Tri-City Mutual Aid Pact

The Pasadena Fire Department is seeking authorization from the City Council to continue its membership in a Tri-City Mutual Aid Agreement for exchange of fire protection, specialized, rescue and emergency medical services between the City of Pasadena and the cities of Los Angeles, Burbank and Glendale.

The proposed agreement would continue an arrangement that the Los Angeles Fire Department (LFD) established in 2003 with Pasadena, Burbank and Glendale that put in place procedures for carrying out automatic aid responses, including fire protection, emergency medical services (EMS), and specialized and rescue services whenever needed at any of the jurisdictions included in the agreement.

Pasadena’s participation in the original agreement was approved by the Pasadena City Council on September 16, 2002, a report by the Pasadena Fire Department showed.

The report also showed the type of assistance in the proposed agreement would basically be the same as in the previous agreement, except that a change in the procedures for use of Los Angeles Fire helicopters will be applied.

In the previous agreement, once a working brush fire is verified, LFD would provide one water-dropping helicopter and one separate helicopter coordinator aircraft for a period not to exceed 12 hours, with additional time to be billed as assistance by hire.

The new agreement will still designate one water-dropping helicopter and one helicopter coordinating aircraft, but the period of assignment on a working brush fire will not exceed two hours only. Additional time will be billed as assistance by hire.

The proposed agreement allows for the rapid response of resources “that are favorably located geographically and/or that add a significant measure of potential protection in a manner that is mutually beneficial,” the report said.

Shared resources should only be utilized until the agency having responsibility is able to relieve the assisting agency with its own resources.

Pasadena, Burbank and Glendale should be ready to assist LFD and provide resources when required. These responses include structure fire and emergency medical services, freeway fire, EMS and technical rescue to supplement LFD engine companies, brush fire response, and swift water rescue.

LFD, on the other hand, will be ready to provide similar resources to the tri-cities, plus additional helicopter response in the form of one mission-specific helicopter and one helicopter coordinating aircraft along with an engine company or a helicopter tender which establishes a helispot for refueling and for filling water tanks before deployment to a fire scene.

The fire department’s proposal to rejoin the tri-cities agreement will be discussed at the Public Safety Committee meeting Wednesday, July 17, at City Council Chambers at City Hall. The meeting begins at 6 p.m.