MABAS Mutual Aid Box Alarm System Elected Officials & Community Leaders

What is MABAS? A fire service mutual aid system connecting fire, EMS, special operations and hazardous materials resources Established by the fire service for the fire service – neighbor helping neighbor Designed so that no community will be left unprotected Reciprocal agreement – No cost for services Voluntary membership – “Opt In” system

What are the Benefits of MABAS? Voluntary membership Liability is greatly reduced Plans emergencies before the incident Safety increased for citizens and firefighters Activation without a disaster declaration Control remains with the local fire chief Legal interstate responses No cost to the municipality for the response

How did MABAS start? Began in suburban Chicago in 1968 and grew to Wisconsin in 1987 Premised on mutual assistance for large-scale natural or catastrophic emergencies After September 2001, the system exponentially grew – included terrorist attacks In 2006, legislation established MABAS as the tool of choice for mutual aid in the state Currently in 25 counties organized and equal number working toward division status

Where is MABAS now?

What are the basic tenets? Local fire chief determines need and remains in charge ONE MABAS contract addressing: – Liability caps and Indemnification – Worker’s Compensation – Compensation and reimbursement Standardized system: – Interoperable communications – Response policies and procedures – Equipment and resources

When is MABAS used? Major structure fires Civil Disturbances School shooting incident Mass evacuation Wide-scale flooding Is any community immune from these incidents? Tornadoes Wildland fires Hazardous Materials spills Terrorism attacks Mass-casualty accidents

What risk do we have? Insert Local Pictures

Statewide Mutual Aid The Wisconsin Fire Service Emergency Response Plan (WFSERP) The WFSERP is organized and activated through MABAS Moves fire service resources from areas not affected by disaster to the disaster Ensures that no community in Wisconsin will be left unprotected Activated with or without a disaster declaration

First WFSERP Activation 7-day incident Industrial fire Hazardous Materials Major evacuation-sheltering Patrick Cudahy Plant

The Activation 8 counties 9 MABAS divisions 64 fire departments 110 fire units 450 fire personnel (150 at one point) 9 task forces 2 strike teams Hazardous materials team EMS support for sheltering center 33 Million gallons of water pumped

The Outcome: Company/City Company vital processing saved Company reopens the following week Company committed to rebuild Company calls back all workers City historic icon saved City’s largest employer stays City’s major tax base saved Area businesses/suppliers unaffected

Interstate Resources Available to MABAS MABAS states –Illinois –Wisconsin –Indiana –Michigan Participating states –Minnesota –Iowa –Missouri –Ohio

Community’s Responsibilities MABAS is not intended to relieve a community of their responsibilities of providing adequate emergency services for all local emergencies MABAS is not an avenue to reduce staffing Agree to respond to another community’s request, if available – a request can be declined if there is an emergency at home Sign the MABAS contract and comply with the policies and procedures

What are the next steps? Approve a municipal resolution – Identifies the statutory language –Allows the top elected official to sign the contract Sign the MABAS contract – No changes can be made to the language – Signature page can be modified Submit signed resolution and contract to MABAS- Wisconsin Form a steering committee to establish an implementation plan to “go live”

Information/Contact For more information, please visit: MABAS contacts: - Brian Satula (MABAS-WI President) - Keith Tveit (WI Emergency Management)

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