This Agreement made and entered into the date set forth next to the signature of the respective parties, by and between the units of local government subscribed hereto [hereafter “Unit(s)”] that have approved this Agreement and adopted same in manner as provided by law and are hereafter listed at the end of this Agreement.
WHEREAS, the parties hereto have determined because of geographical considerations it is important for Illinois units and Wisconsin units to coordinate mutual aid through the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System for the effective and efficient provision of Mutual aid; and
WHEREAS, it is recognized and acknowledged that emergencies, natural disasters, and man-made catastrophes do not conform to designated territorial limits and state boundaries; and
WHEREAS,
the
WHEREAS, the State of
WHEREAS, Wisconsin Statutes 66.03125 authorizes fire departments to engage in mutual assistance within a requesting fire department’s jurisdiction; and
WHEREAS, 2005
WHEREAS, pursuant thereto the Adjutant General of the Department of Military Affairs of the State of Wisconsin is authorized to furnish guidance, develop and promulgate standards for emergency management programs; and
WHEREAS, pursuant thereto the standards for fire, rescue and emergency medical services shall include the adoption of the intergovernmental cooperation Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) as a mechanism that may be used for deploying personnel and equipment in a multi-jurisdictional or multi-agency emergency response; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to such authority, Wis. Admin. Code. Chapter WEM 8 was promulgated in order to establish standards for the adoption of MABAS by local governments as a mechanism to be used for mutual aid for fire rescue and emergency medical services; and
WHEREAS, the parties hereto have determined that it is in their best interests to enter into this Agreement to secure to each the benefits of mutual aid in fire protection, firefighting and the protection of life and property from an emergency or disaster; and,
WHEREAS, the parties hereto have determined that it is in their best interests to associate to provide for communications procedures, training and other necessary functions to further the provision of said protection of life and property from an emergency or disaster;.
THE PARTIES HERETO AGREE AS FOLLOWS:
For the purpose of this Agreement, the following terms as used in this agreement shall be defined as follows:
A. “Mutual Aid Box Alarm System” (hereinafter referred to as “MABAS”): A definite and prearranged plan whereby response and assistance is provided to a Stricken Unit by the Aiding Unit(s) in accordance with the system established and maintained by the MABAS Member Units and amended from time to time;
B. “Member Unit”: A unit of local government including but not limited to a county, city, village, town, tribe or band, emergency medical services district, or fire protection district having a fire department recognized by the State of llinois, or the State of Wisconsin, or an intergovernmental agency and the units of which the intergovernmental agency is comprised which is a party to the MABAS Agreement and has been appropriately authorized by the governing body to enter into such agreement, and to comply with the rules and regulations of MABAS;
C. “Stricken Unit”: A Member Unit or a non-participating local governmental unit which requests aid in the event of an emergency;
D. “Aiding Unit”: A Member Unit furnishing equipment, personnel, and/or services to a Stricken Unit;
E. “Emergency”: An occurrence or condition in a Stricken Unit’s territorial jurisdiction which results in a situation of such magnitude and/or consequence that it cannot be adequately handled by the Stricken Unit, so that it determines the necessity and advisability of requesting aid.
F. “Division”: The geographically associated Member Units or Unit which have been grouped for operational efficiency and representation of those Member Units.
G. “Training”: The regular scheduled practice of emergency procedures during non-emergency drills to implement the necessary joint operations of MABAS.
H. “Executive
Board”: The statewide oversight board
of MABAS which is comprised of Division representatives.
J. “Chief Officer” means the highest ranking
officer within a fire, rescue or emergency medical services unit.
K. “Incident Command System” has the meaning
specified in s. 166.02(6m), Stats. and follows the
guidelines of the National Incident Management System, also known as NIMS.
A.
The Member Units hereby authorize and direct their
respective Chief Officer or his designee to take necessary and proper action to
render and/or request mutual aid from the other Member Units in accordance with
the policies and procedures established and maintained by the MABAS Member
Units. The aid rendered shall be to the
extent of available personnel and equipment not required for adequate
protection of the territorial limits of the Aiding Unit. The judgment of the Chief Officer, or his
designee, of the Aiding Unit shall be final as to the personnel and equipment
available to render aid.
B. Whenever an emergency occurs and conditions are such that the Chief Officer, Incident Commander or his designee, of the Stricken Unit determines it advisable to request aid pursuant to this Agreement he shall notify the Aiding Unit of the nature and location of the emergency and the type and amount of equipment and personnel and/or services requested from the Aiding Unit.
C. The Chief Officer, or his designee, of the Aiding Unit shall take the following action immediately upon being requested for aid:
1. Determine what equipment, personnel and/or services is requested according to the system maintained by the MABAS.
2. Determine if the requested equipment, personnel, and/or services can be committed in response to the request from the Stricken Unit;
3. Dispatch immediately the requested equipment, personnel and/or services, to the extent available, to the location of the emergency reported by the Stricken Unit in accordance with the procedures of the MABAS;
4. Notify the Stricken Unit if any or all of the requested equipment, personnel and/or services cannot be provided.
Personnel
dispatched to aid a party pursuant to this Agreement shall remain employees of
the Aiding Unit. Personnel of the Aiding
Unit shall report for direction and assignment at the scene of the emergency to
the
Equipment, personnel, and/or services provided pursuant to this Agreement shall be at no charge to the Stricken Unit; however, any expenses recoverable from third parties and responsible parties shall be equitably distributed among Aiding Units. Nothing herein shall operate to bar any recovery of funds from any state or federal agency under any existing state and federal laws.
Each
part hereto shall procure and maintain, at its sole and exclusive expense,
insurance coverage, including: comprehensive liability, personal injury,
property damage, worker’s compensation, and, if applicable, emergency medical
service professional liability, with minimum limits of $1,000,000 auto and
$1,000,000 combined single limit general liability and professional
liability. No party hereto shall have
any obligation to provide or extend insurance coverage for any of the items
enumerated herein to any other party hereto or its personnel. The obligations of the Section may be
satisfied by a party’s membership in a self-insurance pool, a self-insurance
plan or arrangement with an insurance provider approved by the state of jurisdiction. The MABAS may require that copies or other
evidence of compliance with the provisions of this Section be provided to the
MABAS. Upon request, Member Units shall
provide such evidence as herein provided to the MABAS members.
Each party hereto agrees to waive all claims against all other parties hereto for any loss, damage, personal injury or death occurring in consequence of the performance of this Agreement; provided, however, that such claim is not a result of willful or reckless misconduct by a party hereto or its personnel. The Stricken Unit hereby expressly agrees to hold harmless, indemnify and defend the Aiding Unit and its personnel from any and all claims, demands, liability, losses, including attorney fees and costs, suits in law or in equity which are made by a third party that may arise from providing aid pursuant to this Agreement.
All employee benefits, wage and disability payments, pensions and worker’s compensation claims, shall be the sole and exclusive responsibility of each party for its own employees provided, however, that such claim is not a result of willful or reckless misconduct by a party hereto or its personnel.
The rendering of assistance under the terms of this Agreement shall not be mandatory and the Aiding Unit may refuse if local conditions of the Aiding Unit prohibit response. It is the responsibility of the Aiding Unit to immediately notify the Stricken Unit of the Aiding Unit’s inability to respond, however, failure to immediately notify the Stricken Unit of such inability to respond shall not constitute evidence of noncompliance with the terms of this section and no liability may be assigned.
No liability of any kind or nature shall be attributed to or be assumed, whether expressly or implied, by a party hereto, its duly authorized agents and personnel, for failure or refusal to render aid. Nor shall there be any liability of a party for withdrawal of aid once provided pursuant to the terms of this Agreement.
This Agreement shall be in effect for a term of one year from the date of signature hereof and shall automatically renew for successive one year terms unless terminated in accordance with this Section.
Any party hereto may terminate its
participation in this Agreement at any time, provided that the party wishing to
terminate its participation in this Agreement shall give written notice to the
Board of their Division and to the Executive Board specifying the date of
termination, such notice to be given at least 90 calendar days prior to the
specified date of termination of participation.
The written notice provided herein shall be given by personal delivery,
registered mail or certified mail. In
This Agreement shall be in full force and effective upon
approval by the parties hereto in the manner provided by law and upon proper
execution hereof. In
This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of any successor entity which may assume the obligations of any party hereto. Provided, however, that this Agreement may not be assigned by a Member Unit without prior written consent of the parties hereto.
The invalidity of any provision of this Agreement shall not render invalid any other provision. If, for any reason, any provision of this Agreement is determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unenforceable, that provision shall be deemed severable and this Agreement may be enforced with that provision severed or modified by court order.
All notices hereunder shall be in writing and shall be served personally, by registered mail or certified mail to the parties at such addresses as may be designated from time to time on the MABAS mailing lists or, to other such addresses as shall be agreed upon.
This Agreement shall be governed, interpreted and
construed in accordance with the laws of the State of
This Agreement may be executed in multiple counterparts or duplicate originals, each of which shall constitute and be deemed as one and the same document.
An Executive Board is hereby established to consider,
adopt and amend from time to time as needed rules, procedures, by-laws and any
other matters deemed necessary by the Member Units. The Executive Board shall consist of a member
elected from each Division within MABAS who shall serve as the voting
representative of said Division on MABAS matters, and may appoint a designee to
serve temporarily in his stead. Such
designee shall be from within the respective division and shall have all rights
and privileges attendant to a representative of that Member Unit. In
A President and Vice President shall be elected from the representatives of the Member Units and shall serve without compensation. The President and such other officers as are provided for in the by laws shall coordinate the activities of the MABAS.
The Executive Board shall meet regularly to conduct business and to consider and publish the rules, procedures and by laws of the MABAS, which shall govern the Executive Board meetings and such other relevant matters as the Executive Board shall deem necessary.
Rules, procedures and by laws of the
MABAS shall be established by the Member Units
via the Executive Board as deemed necessary from time to time for the
purpose of administrative functions, the exchange of information and the common
welfare of the MABAS. In
This Agreement may only be amended
by written consent of all the parties hereto.
This shall not preclude the amendment of rules, procedures and by laws
of the MABAS as established by the Executive Board to this Agreement. The undersigned unit of local government or
public agency hereby has adopted, and subscribes to and approves this MUTUAL
AID
This Signatory certifies that this Mutual Aid Box Alarm System Agreement has been adopted and approved by ordinance, resolution, or other manner approved by law, a copy of which document is attached hereto.
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Political Entry
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President or Mayor, or Chairman
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ATTEST:
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Date
(Note: Signature page may be modified to meet each
individual jurisdiction’s official signature(s) requirements.)