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The concept of mutual aid has been in the Fire Priority Dispatch System™ (FPDS®) since the beginning. Yet, Protocol 65: Mutual Aid/Assist Outside Agency is not a commonly used Chief Complaint Protocol.
In 2023, Protocol 65 only accounted for about 0.25% of the 607,320 FPDS calls in the IAED™ Data Center, comprising 1,525 cases annually. Of course, the IAED tracks final coding through the Fire Protocol, which does not necessarily account for many agencies’ practice of utilizing automatic aid agreements outside of that system.
MUTUAL AID agreements
Most fire agencies have an established agreement with neighboring jurisdictions to automatically provide aid in certain events or circumstances. In Protocol 65, Automatic Aid is defined as “a predetermined agreement between communities (agencies) to utilize the closest units regardless of jurisdictional boundaries.”
Each automatic aid agreement is as unique as the centers who form it. These agreements typically outline the types of events that require outside assistance and the resources (equipment or specialized teams) that would be needed and sent automatically.
Deputy Director Karli Piper of the City of Cincinnati Emergency Communications Center (Ohio, USA) emphasized the importance of automatic aid agreements, especially in rural areas where funding and resources are limited and volunteer fire crews are common.
Piper formerly worked in a Wisconsin communication center where the dynamics of the rural area heavily influenced the method and level of response, especially regarding mutual aid. At times, even a common incident would require additional assistance.
“You’d have a jurisdiction with a structure fire, and three other agencies would be coming to help, right off the bat,” Piper said. “We’d have to make sure to prevent leaving a whole geographical area depleted of all resources.”
In some regions, it would be impossible to address large-scale incidents or to provide a specialized response without utilizing borrowed manpower and materials (e.g., all-terrain rescue, air and light unit, 105-foot ladder tower, HAZMAT team, Dive team, or SWAT team).
In the case of a densely populated metropolitan area, such as the City of Cincinnati ECC where Piper is now employed, it may be more common to receive requests for aid than to ask surrounding areas for their resources. Their staff of 120 employees handle about one million calls per year, addressing a population that swings from 300,000 regular inhabitants to about 1.7 million people commuting through the bustling city on a typical workday. With sheer numbers at play, their fire department must be well outfitted, but it is always possible to have a large-scale incident with an all-hands-on-deck approach.
MUTUAL AID vs Assist OUTSIDE AGENCY
Protocol 65 not only handles requests for MUTUAL AID but also covers requests for Assist OUTSIDE AGENCY. In the FPDS, OUTSIDE AGENCY is defined as “any agency that is requesting assistance of the fire rescue service.” This broad definition includes opportunities to help law enforcement or government municipalities who have unique needs beyond their typical resources.
For Sumter County Emergency Communications Center (ECC), Protocol 65 is a daily staple for handling miscellaneous Assist OUTSIDE AGENCY requests, such as arranging HAZMAT units, setting up landing zones for air support, assisting law enforcement with clearing roadway debris and washdowns, providing lift assistance, providing law enforcement with blood draw requests after a vehicle collision, extricating deceased persons from a vehicle collision, or sending a ladder to search the roof of a commercial business for a potential burglary suspect.
Jacquelynn Martin, ECC Manager & Assistant 9-1-1 Coordinator, and Crystal Bostrom, QA and Training Supervisor, handle unique dynamics at Sumter County ECC, located in the central part of Florida (USA), as part of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. As the secondary PSAP in the county (providing both EFD and EMD), they serve a population of approximately 145,000 residents with rapid growth and a median age of 68.1 years, largely due to a master-planned retirement community called “The Villages.”
Sumter County ECC also provides after-hours support for animal services, public works, county facilities and parks, and city municipalities, not to mention handling everyday golf cart collisions from the recreational retired population, which is far more common than you might guess. “They keep us on our toes!” Martin said.
Mutual aid is an important aspect of Sumter County’s services during critical large-scale events, such as requesting specific fire apparatus from other agencies, assisting with multiple hurricane evacuations, or sending additional medical units during mass shootings.
One such incident occurred in the Orlando night club “Pulse” on June 12, 2016, requiring Sumter County ECC to send multiple ambulances. An active shooter tragically killed 49 people and wounded 53 in the deadliest terrorist attack in the United States since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Word often travels nearly as quickly as the surrounding help already on the way.
Protocol 65 challenges
Since you never know what the next call will bring, it is important to review your agency’s individual aid agreements and the use of Protocol 65. As every EFD knows, there’s no time when it’s time.
Using Protocol 65 is straightforward: ask relevant Key Questions, send the appropriate Determinant Code, complete remaining Key Questions, review Critical EFD Information, provide Post-Dispatch Instructions, and disconnect. However, there are still a few complications to keep in mind, especially when communicating with other agencies.
“When you get a call that you don’t often handle, you don’t want to fumble without knowing how the small details may have an impact,” Piper said. “One of the things we have to be cognizant of when it comes to mutual aid, in particular, is our language as we may refer to equipment differently.”
This may be particularly important when asking the Key Question “What resources do you need?”. Several examples are listed in the Additional Information section “Types of Apparatus.” Even though most fire departments have tried to move away from codes and jargon with the preferred use of plain language, equipment terminology may still be unique to each jurisdiction.
“A ‘ladder’ is a ‘truck,’ and a ‘squad’ may be mistaken for a police officer instead of a medic unit,” Piper said. “A ‘Rapid Intervention Team’ is sometimes called a ‘RIT’ or a ‘RAT.’”
Martin confirmed that they, too, have noticed potential for miscommunication among varied agencies. “We refer to large water trucks as ‘tenders,’ but others call them ‘tankers,’” Martin said. “We have used ‘rescues’ for ambulances, while other agencies call them ‘medic units.’”
Beyond using the same language, sometimes it is a challenge just to get on the same frequency, which is addressed on the Key Question, “What radio channel/talk group are they using?”.
“Most of our surrounding counties have compatible radio systems, but one is different,” Martin said. “We’ve had roadblocks with analog versus digital radio systems that aren’t compatible, and it’s a huge disadvantage when not all units assigned to the incident can communicate.”
These potential challenges make it even more critical for the EFD to make sure that each agency is in contact with the Incident Command Post, addressed by the Key Questions “Where is the incident command post?” and “What is the command post telephone number?”. For the safety and efficiency of working in tandem, the Incident Command Post has ultimate control over each piece of a multi-faceted team.
Distinction is key
Mike Thompson, IAED Fire Protocol, Academics, and Standards Expert, said Protocol 65 has a community-wide sense. “It’s important because of the way it branches out beyond one agency or jurisdiction,” Thompson said. “Some users overlook the simplicity of this Protocol because of its straightforward setup, but they may not recognize the different response levels that determine the appropriate method for sending additional help.”
It might seem that some of the Protocol 65 Determinant Codes are just repeated on each level, but the distinctions matter.
Determining the appropriate Determinant Code requires the EFD to distinguish between MUTUAL AID and Assist OUTSIDE AGENCY requests, to determine the number of units, and to determine the method of response: HOT (lights-and-siren emergency unit driving response mode) or COLD (routine emergency unit driving response mode not using lights-and-siren).
IAED data shows that more than half (52.18%) of the Determinant Codes on Protocol 65 fall within the BRAVO level, resulting in sending a single unit HOT. The ALPHA level comprises 30.86% of Determinant Codes, which indicates either single or multiple units responding COLD. Finally, the remaining 16.96% of these incidents involve sending a DELTA-level response of multiple units running HOT.
Unlike most Chief Complaint Protocols, Protocol 65 does not end by providing Case Exit Instructions, in part because other agencies are not located at the scene. Instead, Critical EFD Information reminds the EFD to advise responding units of potential hazards (if applicable) and to refer to agency for MUTUAL AID procedures.
Finally, Rule 2 reminds the EFD that “confirmation of location and responding units should occur on every call.” The Emergency Dispatcher ends these calls with confirmation of the exact units that will be responding, as part of Post-Dispatch Instruction a: “I’m sending the following units as requested: [unit numbers].” This confirmation reassures those orchestrating the response that the right resources are coming to the right location in the right method.
