HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution 2018-036 RESOLUTION NO. 2018-036
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORTH
RICHLAND HILLS, TEXAS, AUTHORIZING AN INTERLOCAL
AGREEMENT FOR MUTUAL AID IN FIRE PROTECTION AND
EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES; SETTING THE STANDARD
OF CARE FOR EMERGENCY ACTION IN MUTUAL AID AND FIRE
PROTECTION SERVICES; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE
DATE.
WHEREAS, Chapter 791 of the Texas Government Code authorizes local governments
to enter into Interlocal Agreements for mutual aid and fire protection
services (the "Agreement"); and
WHEREAS, The City of North Richland Hills Fire Department desires to enter into an
Interlocal Agreement with other government entities in Tarrant County to
provide shared fire protection and emergency medical services; and
WHEREAS, The Agreement for mutual aid requires each entity participating in the
agreement to adopt an ordinance, resolution, rule or order to establish the
"standard of care for emergency action" under the Agreement;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TEXAS, THAT:
SECTION 1. The City Council hereby finds that the recitals set forth above are true and
correct and are incorporated into this Resolution as if written herein.
SECTION 2. The City Manager of the City of North Richland Hills is authorized to execute
an Interlocal Agreement with other government entities in Tarrant County
for mutual aid in fire protection and emergency services, and any necessary
and related documents.
SECTION 3. The City Council hereby adopts the "standard of care for emergency action"
as set forth herein below:
Every officer, agent or employee of the City of North Richland Hills and
every officer, agent or employee of an authorized provider of emergency
services, including, but not limited to every unit of government or subdivision
thereof, while responding to emergency calls or reacting to emergency
situations, regardless of whether any declaration of emergency has been
declared or proclaimed by a unit of government or subdivision thereof, is
hereby authorized to act or not to act in such a manner to effectively deal
with the emergency.
An action or inaction is `effective' if it in any way contributes or can
reasonably be thought by the provider of such emergency service to
contribute to preserving any lives or property. This Section shall prevail
over every other ordinance, resolution, rule, or order of the City of North
Resolution No. 2018-036
Page 1 of 2
Richland Hills and, to the extent to which the City of North Richland Hills
has the authority to so authorize, over any other law establishing a standard
of care in conflict with this section.
Neither the City of North Richland Hills nor the employee, agent or officer
thereof, or other unit of government or subdivision thereof or its employees,
agents or officers shall be liable for failure to use ordinary care in such
emergency. It is the intent of the City of North Richland Hills, by passing
this ordinance, resolution, rule, or order to assure effective action in
emergency situations by those entrusted with the responsibility of saving
lives and property by protecting such government units from liability, and
their employees, agents and offices from nonintentional tort liability to the
fullest extent permitted by statutory and constitutional law, this ordinance,
resolution, rule or order shall be liberally construed to carry out the intent of
the City of North Richland Hills."
SECTION 4. This Resolution shall take effect and be in full force and effect from and after
the date of its adoption, and it is so resolved; and all Resolutions of the City
Council of the City in conflict herewith are hereby amended or repealed to
the extent of such conflict.
PASSED AND APPROVED on this 10th day of December, 2018. //
CITY OR y-ICHL/ND HILLS
By: /
Oscar Trey. •, Mayor
ATTEST:
LL-(--t. J " t Lv c=`-'l+__\__,
Alicia Richardson, City Secretary
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY:
4�i LL .AA.
Maleshia B. McGinnis, City Attorney
APPROVED AS TO CONTENT:
Stan Tinney, Fire - hief
Resolution No. 2018-036
Page 2 of 2
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The State Of Texas
County of Tarrant
Agreement for Mutual Aid in Fire Protection
And
Emergency Medical Services
This Agreement is entered into by and between the agencies signatory to this
agreement, hereinafter referred to as "Member Local Entity," "Parties,- or "Party."
WITNESSETH
WHEREAS, the governing body of the Member Local Entities, organized under
the general laws of the State of Texas, desire to secure for each Member Local Entity the
benefits of mutual aid in the protection of life and property from fire and in firefighting
and emergency medical services; and
WHEREAS, this Agreement is entered into pursuant to Chapter 791 of the Texas
Government Code;
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
1.
The following terms shall have the following meanings when used in this
Agreement:
(A) For purposes of this contract, "Member Local Entity" means a:
(1) county, municipality, special district, or other political subdivision of
this state or a state that borders this state; or
(2) volunteer fire department constituted under state law.
(B) For purposes of this contract, "mutual aid" refers to reciprocal assistance by
emergency services under a prearranged plan.
2
That upon request by the Fire Chief or his/her designee or by the fire alarm
operator of one Member Local Entity to the fire department of the other Member Local
entity, available fire department equipment and personnel will be dispatched in aid of the
requesting Member Local Entity to any point within a reasonable distance of the
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jurisdictional limits of the responding Local Entity, subject to the conditions hereinafter
stated.
The Fire Chief of each Member Local Entity shall designate what constitutes a
reasonable travel distance outside the jurisdictional limits of the Local Entity.
It is hereby declared and agreed that an emergency condition shall exist within the
corporate limits of a requesting Member Local Entity when one or more emergencies are
in progress. When such an emergency exists, upon request of the Fire Chief, or his/her
designee, or by the fire alarm operator of a Member Local Entity in which the emergency
condition exists (the "requesting Local Entity") to the fire department of another Member
Local Entity (the "responding Local Entity"), the Fire Chief or designee of the
responding Local Entity will dispatch such fire department equipment and personnel to
the aid of the requesting Local Entity as he/she deems advisable subject to the conditions
hereinafter set out.
3.
Any dispatch of fire department equipment and personnel pursuant to this
Agreement is subject to the following conditions:
A. It is expressly understood and agreed that before responding in accordance with
this Agreement that each Member Local Entity will have an ordinance, resolution,
rule, or order adopted before the effective date of this Agreement which sets out
the standard of care for emergency action which substantially states the following:
"Every officer, agent or employee of the Member Local Entity and every officer,
agent or employee of an authorized provider of emergency services, including,
but not limited to every unit of government or subdivision thereof, while
responding to emergency calls or reacting to emergency situations, regardless of
whether any declaration of emergency has been declared or proclaimed by a unit
of government or subdivision thereof, is hereby authorized to act or not to act in
such a manner to effectively deal with the emergency. An action or inaction is
`effective' if it in any way contributes or can reasonably be thought by the
provider of such emergency service to contribute to preserving any lives or
property. This Section shall prevail over every other ordinance, resolution, rule,
or order of the Member Local Entity and, to the extent to which the Member
Local Entity has the authority to so authorize, over any other law establishing a
standard of care in conflict with this section. Neither the Member Local Entity
nor the employee, agent or officer thereof, or other unit of government or
subdivision thereof or its employees, agents or officers shall be liable for failure
to use ordinary care in such emergency. It is the intent of the Member Local
Entity, by passing this ordinance, resolution, rule, or order to assure effective
action in emergency situations by those entrusted with the responsibility of saving
lives and property by protecting such government units from liability, and their
employees, agents and offices from nonintentional tort liability to the fullest
extent permitted by statutory and constitutional law, this ordinance, resolution,
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rule or order shall be liberally construed to carry out the intent of the Member
Local Entity."
B. Any request for assistance under this Agreement shall specify the amount and
type(s) of fire department equipment needed, the MAPSCO location, and the
street address to which the equipment and personnel are to be dispatched.
Upon a request for mutual aid assistance by a Member Local Entity, under the
terms of this agreement, the typical response set for personnel and equipment
would be as follows: one unit of firefighting apparatus, pumper (engine) or aerial
(ladder), with a minimum of three personnel, or a brush truck or water supply
vehicle with a minimum of two personnel, or an ambulance with a minimum of
two personnel. However, variances to the typical response set for personnel may
be agreed upon at the time of the mutual aid request. The Fire Chief of the
responding Local Entity or his/her designee may dispatch additional equipment
and personnel.
Responding personnel must meet the minimum firefighting standards as
established by their jurisdiction or by the Texas Commission on Fire Protection
whichever is applicable.
Texas Department of Health certified personnel (Emergency Care Attendant,
Emergency Medical Technician, and Paramedic) may provide emergency medical
services to the degree allowed by their certification and Medical Control.
Supervisory personnel, support equipment and personnel, or additional fire
department equipment and personnel may also be dispatched to the Member
Local Entity by direction of the Fire Chief of the responding Local Entity or
his/her designee.
C. The requesting Local Entity must have a command system in place and an
incident commander in charge of the incident.
D. Upon arriving on the scene of an incident, the senior fire representative from the
responding Local Entity shall make contact with the Local Entity Incident
Commander, and the senior fire representative direct the utilization of his/her
resources to assist in mitigating the emergency in accordance with accepted
procedures.
However, if a member of a responding Local Entity is requested to perform a task
that is in conflict with the responding Local Entity's internal policies, the
responding Local Entity retains the right to advise the officer in charge that the
task cannot be completed. If agreement cannot be reached on the issue, the
responding Local Entity has the option of leaving the scene. Each Party to this
Agreement shall at all times be and remain legally responsible for the conduct of
its respective fire department employees regardless of whether such employees
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were performing duties under this Agreement at the request of the requesting
Local Entity and regardless of whether such employees were acting under the
authority, direction, suggestion or orders of an officer of the requesting Local
Entity. This assignment of civil liability is specifically permitted by section
791.006(a-1) of the Texas Government Code ("Code") and is intended to be
different than the liability otherwise assigned under section 791.1006 (a) of the
Code. Each Party hereby waives all claims against the other Party for
compensation for any loss, damage, personal injury or death occurring as a
consequence of the performance of the Agreement.
E. Fire department equipment and personnel from the responding Local Entity shall
be released by the Incident Commander as soon as they are no longer needed or
when their services are needed within their normal fire protection area.
F. In areas where common Member Local Entity jurisdictional lines exist, accurate
determination of jurisdiction may not be possible upon receipt of an alarm. In
these cases, the Local Entity receiving the alarm will dispatch its fire department
equipment and personnel and notify the other affected Local Entity of the alarm.
If the emergency is not within the jurisdictional limits of the responding Local
Entity, it is agreed that the services provided will be considered to have been
provided pursuant to this Agreement.
4.
Neither Member Local Entity shall be reimbursed by the other for costs incurred
pursuant to this Agreement, with the exception of supplies and consumable items.
5.
All equipment used by the responding fire department in carrying out this
agreement will, at the time of action hereunder, be owned by it; and personnel who
perform duties pursuant to this agreement shall receive the same payment, salary,
pension, injury or death benefits, workers' compensation benefits, payment of expenses,
and all other compensation and rights for the performance of those duties, as they would
have received for their regular duties in the service of the Member Local Entity which
they serve. Each Member Local Entity shall be solely responsible for the payment of its
costs associated with providing fire department equipment and personnel under this
Agreement for up to twelve (12) consecutive hours of a Mutual Aid.
Thereafter, upon receipt of an invoice, all costs associated with the provision of
Mutual Aid lasting more than twelve consecutive hours shall be paid by the responding
Local Entity and reimbursed by the requesting Local Entity, to the extent permitted by
law. Such costs include, but are not limited to: compensation for personnel; operation and
maintenance of equipment; damage to equipment; and food, lodging and transportation
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expenses. Formulary to assist cost determination will be based on the most current
FEMA reimbursement schedules set by the Stafford Act and chapter 418 of the Texas
Government Code.
(1) Requests for reimbursement must be submitted as soon as practicable but no later
than sixty days after the return of all personnel deployed under this Agreement.
Failure to submit a request for reimbursement within the specified time frame will
result in the responding Local Entity not being reimbursed for the Mutual Aid
provided unless the requesting Local Entity extends the deadline for filing
requests for reimbursement or the Federal or State Government extends the
deadline for filing request for reimbursement. Such requests shall specifically
identify all personnel, equipment, and resources provided; dates of issuance or
duration of deployment, and the unit cost and total costs associated with each.
(2) The responding Local Entity shall be responsible for creating and maintaining a
record of all costs incurred, both reimbursed and unreimbursed costs, in providing
Mutual Aid under this Agreement. The record shall be kept for a period of three
years from the date the incident is closed.
(3) In the event federal or state funds are available for costs associated with the
provision of Mutual Aid, the Parties agree that the requesting Local Entity shall
make the claim for the eligible costs of the responding Local Entity on its
subgrant application and will disburse the federal or state share of funds to the
responding Local Entity.
(4) Reimbursement under this Section will be made by the requesting Local Entity no
later than: (1) one-hundred eighty days after receipt of the request for
reimbursement; or (2) ninety days after the requesting Local Entity receives
reimbursement from the federal or state government, whichever is sooner.
6.
It is expressly understood that when an employee or volunteer of the responding
Local Entity is performing duties under the terms of this agreement, that person is
considered to be acting in the line of duty for the purposes of Chapter 42 U.S.C. Sec.
3796; other benefits which accrue under law as a result of injury, death, or loss which
occurs while in the line of duty.
7.
It is further understood and agreed that, in the execution of this Agreement and
contract, neither Member Local Entity waives, nor shall be deemed hereby to waive, any
immunity or defense that would otherwise be available to it against claims arising in the
exercise of governmental powers and functions.
8.
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This Agreement shall he interpreted under and governed by the laws of the State
of Texas. The venue for any lawsuit arising out of this Agreement will be the Fort Worth
Division of the Northern District of Texas if the lawsuit arises in Federal Court or Tarrant
County, Texas if the matter arises in State Court.
9.
Each Member Local Entity may terminate this Agreement upon thirty (30) days'
written notice to the other Member Local Entity.
10.
In case one or more of the provisions contained in this Agreement shall be for any
reason held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect, such invalidity,
illegality or unenforceability shall not affect any other provision, and this Agreement
shall be construed as if the invalid, illegal or unenforceable provision had never been
contained in the Agreement.
11
This Agreement contains all commitments and agreements of the Member Local
Entities regarding mutual fire protection and emergency medical service assistance, and
no other prior oral or written commitments shall have any force or effect.
12.
This Agreement shall become effective between the Parties hereto on the day after
it is fully executed and shall continue in effect for twelve (12) months from the effective
date. This Agreement shall renew automatically for a period of one year upon the
completion of the initial term and each subsequent term thereafter unless and until such
time as the governing body of a Party terminates its participation prior to the date of
automatic renewal or as prescribed in Section 10 of this Agreement.
13.
This Agreement may be amended or modified by the mutual agreement of the
Parties hereto, in writing, to be attached to and incorporated into this Agreement.
14.
The undersigned Member Local Entities agree and certify they have complied with one
of the following provisions of this section based on if they are a Governmental Entity or
Volunteer Fire Department:
1. The Parties claiming to be exempt from the Form 1295 requirement acknowledge
that they are governmental entities and not business entities as those terms are
defined in Tex. Gov't Code 2252.908, and therefore, no disclosure of interested
parties pursuant to Tex. Gov't Code Section 2252.908 are required.
2. The Volunteer Fire Department acknowledges and agrees that it has fully,
accurately, and completely disclosed all interested parties in the attached Form
1295, and has acknowledged the completeness of this disclosure by filing the
Form 1295, attached as Exhibit A, with the Texas Ethics Commission as required
by law.
15.
This Agreement shall be executed by the duly authorized official(s) of the Party
as expressed in the approving ordinance, resolution, rule or order of the governing body
of such Party, a copy of which is attached hereto.
Executed this day of 2018
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Attest: Attest:
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Member Local Entities
Current Signatories
City of Bedford
City of Benbrook
City of Blue Mound
City of Colleyville
City of Crowley
City of Dalworthington Gardens
Dido Volunteer Fire Department
City of Euless
City of Everman
Town of Flower Mound
Tarrant County Fire Marshal's Office
City of Forest Hill
City of Grapevine
City of Hurst
City of Keller
City of Mansfield
NAS-Joint Reserve Base, Fort Worth
City of North Richland Hills
North Tarrant County Rural Fire District
Town of Pantego
City of Richland Hills
City of River Oaks
City of Sansom Park
City of Saginaw
City of Trophy Club
City of Trophy Club, MUD #1
City of Trophy Club, MUD #2
City of Watauga
City of Westlake
City of WestworthVillage