AGENDA #5c
to: Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager
from: Daniel Jones, Fire Chief
subject: Information Report – Expansion of Durham Fire Mutual Aid Agreement
date: September 10, 2007
The purpose of this report is to provide information on the expansion of the existing fire department mutual aid agreement with the City of Durham to provide automatic first response assistance in new areas of Chapel Hill and Durham. This enhancement to the fire protection response of both communities is possible by exercising the options for automatic aid provided in the Mutual Aid agreement between the City of Durham and the Town of Chapel Hill and approved by the Town Council, December of 1994 and by the opening of Durham City Fire Station #16 in early 2007.
The City of Durham Fire Department and the Town of Chapel Hill Fire Department have operated with a mutual aid agreement in place since it was approved by both Councils in 1994. Due to the barrier created by Interstate 40, this agreement was rarely utilized except in major incidents over the interim period. The Chapel Hill Town Council asked the Town Manager in September of 2006 to look for ways to improve cooperation with the City of Durham. Chapel Hill Fire Chief Dan Jones and Durham Fire Chief Bruce Pagan began discussing ways to improve the mutual aid arrangements in the areas bordering US 15-501 and NC 54 where the two communities intersect.
The City of Durham opened Fire Station #16 on Farrington Road just south of NC 54 in October, 2006 and the proximity of this fire station to the eastern boundary of Chapel Hill made a more frequent use of mutual aid a benefit for both communities.
The enhanced mutual aid agreement was executed by the Chapel Hill and Durham City Managers on June 28th, 2007 and provides for “automatic aid” between the fire departments in specifically identified areas on eastern Chapel Hill and southwestern Durham. Under an automatic aid arrangement fire trucks from each department will respond to an initial alarm into the neighboring city to assist with response in those areas designated by the Fire Chiefs. For Chapel Hill this includes areas along both sides of NC 54 up to Fordham Blvd. (including Meadowmont) and areas on either side of US 15-501 south of I-40 to approximately Ephesus Church Road. For Durham this includes areas on either side of NC 54 east to Quadrangle Drive and either side of US 15-501 north of I-40 to approximately Garrett Road. This automatic aid arrangement allows both communities to supplement their own response with units from the neighboring fire department that are actually closer to the response zone than the next available units from their own stations.
The Fire Departments have been training together and synchronizing emergency scene procedures to ensure effective operations when together. We have already experienced positive results from this arrangement and early responses indicate it will enhance response for both communities. We will continue to monitor this operational practice to ensure that it is effective. There is no anticipated additional budget cost to either community since the mutual aid cross response actually saves on committing additional units of our own on the initial response. For Chapel Hill this helps us maintain more units available for additional calls.
1. Fire Chief’s Joint Memorandum of Understanding – June 2007 (p. 3).
2. Mutual Aid Agreement for Fire Protection, City of Durham and Town of Chapel Hill – June 2007 (p. 5).
3. Map showing automatic aid areas (p. 9).
