MUTUAL AID BOX ALARM SYSTEM

 AGREEMENT

 

            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 Constitution of the State of Illinois, 1970, Article VII, Section 10, authorizes units of local government to contract or otherwise associate among themselves in any manner not prohibited by law or ordinance; and,

 

            WHEREAS, the "Intergovernmental Cooperation Act", 5 ILCS 220/1 et seq., provides that any power or powers, privileges or authority exercised or which may be exercised by a unit of local government may be exercised and enjoyed jointly with any other unit of local government; and,

 

            WHEREAS, Section 5 of the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act, 5 ILCS 220/5, provides that any one or more public agencies may contract with any one or more public agencies to perform any governmental service, activity or undertaking which any of the public agencies entering into the contract is authorized by law to perform, provided that such contract shall be authorized by the governing body of each party to the contract; 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 determine that it is in their best interests to form an association 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.

 

            NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing recitals, the Unit's membership in the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System and the covenants contained herein, THE PARTIES HERETO AGREE AS FOLLOWS:

                                                                 SECTION ONE

                                                                       Purpose

            It is recognized and acknowledged that in certain situations, such as, but not limited to, emergencies, natural disasters and man-made catastrophies, the use of an individual Member Unit's personnel and equipment to perform functions outside the territorial limits of the Member Unit is desirable and necessary to preserve and protect the health, safety and welfare of the public.  It is further expressly acknowledged that in certain situations, such as the aforementioned, the use of other Member Unit's personnel and equipment to perform functions within the territorial limits of a Member Unit is desirable and necessary to preserve and protect the health, safety and welfare of the public.  Further, it is acknowledged that coordination of mutual aid through the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System is desirable for the effective and efficient provision of mutual aid.

 

                                                                 SECTION TWO

                                                                     Definitions

            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 city, village or fire protection district having a fire department recognized by the State of Illinois, 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 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 Member 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 and such that a Member Unit 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 governing body of MABAS comprised of Division representatives.

 

                                                               SECTION THREE

                                           Authority and Action to Effect Mutual Aid

            A.         The Member Units hereby authorize and direct their respective Fire Chief 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 Fire Chief, 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 Fire Chief, 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 Fire Chief, 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 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 MABAS;

4.      Notify the Stricken Unit if any or all of the requested equipment, personnel and/or services cannot be provided.

 

                                                                SECTION FOUR

                                       Jurisdiction Over Personnel and Equipment

            Personnel dispatched to aid a party pursuant to this Agreement shall remain employees of the Aiding Unit.  Personnel rendering aid shall report for direction and assignment at the scene of the emergency to the Fire Chief or Senior Officer of the Stricken Unit.  The party rendering aid shall at all times have the right to withdraw any and all aid upon the order of its Fire Chief or his designee; provided, however, that the party withdrawing such aid shall notify the Fire Chief or Senior Officer of the party requesting aid of the withdrawal of such aid and the extent of such withdrawal.

 

                                                                 SECTION FIVE

                                                           Compensation for Aid

            Equipment, personnel, and/or services provided pursuant to this Agreement shall be at no charge to the party requesting aid; however, any expenses recoverable from third parties shall be equitably distributed among responding parties.  Nothing herein shall operate to bar any recovery of funds from any state or federal agency under any existing statutes.

 

                                                                  SECTION SIX

                                                                     Insurance

            Each party 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.

 

                                                               SECTION SEVEN

                                                                 Indemnification

            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 Mutual Aid Agreement; provided, however, that such claim is not a result of gross negligence or willful misconduct by a party hereto or its personnel.

            Each party requesting or providing aid pursuant to this Agreement hereby expressly agrees to hold harmless, indemnify and defend the party rendering aid and its personnel from any and all claims, demands, liability, losses, suits in law or in equity which are made by a third party.  This indemnity shall include attorney fees and costs that may arise from providing aid pursuant to this Agreement.  Provided, however, that all employee benefits, wage and disability payments, pensions, worker's compensation claims, damage to or destruction of equipment and clothing, and medical expenses of the party rendering aid shall be the sole and exclusive responsibility of the respective party for its employees, provided, however, that such claims made by a third party are not the result of gross negligence or willful misconduct on the part of the party rendering aid.

                                                               SECTION EIGHT

                                             Non-Liability for Failure to Render Aid

            The rendering of assistance under the terms of this Agreement shall not be mandatory 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.

 

                                                                 SECTION NINE

                                                                          Term

            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.

 

                                                                 SECTION TEN

                                                                  Effectiveness

            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.

 

                                                              SECTION ELEVEN

                                                                  Binding Effect

            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; and this Agreement shall not be assigned by MABAS without prior written consent of the parties hereto.

 

                                                              SECTION TWELVE

                                                                        Validity

            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.

 

                                                            SECTION THIRTEEN

                                                                       Notices

            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.

 

                                                           SECTION FOURTEEN

                                                                 Governing Law

            This Agreement shall be governed, interpreted and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Illinois.

 

                                                             SECTION FIFTEEN

                                                       Execution in Counterparts

            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.

 

                                                             SECTION SIXTEEN

                                                      Executive Board of MABAS

            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.

            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.

 

                                                          SECTION SEVENTEEN

                                                    Duties of the Executive Board

            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.

 

                                                           SECTION EIGHTEEN

                                                          Rules and Procedures

            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.

 

                                                            SECTION NINETEEN

                                                                   Amendments

            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 BOX ALARM SYSTEM Agreement to which this signature page will be attached, and agrees to be a party thereto and be bound by the terms thereof.

 

            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.

 

 

                                                                       

Political Entity

 

 

                                                                       

President or Mayor

 

 

                                                                       

Date

 

 

 

ATTEST:

 

 

                                                                       

Title

 

                                                                       

Date

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MABAS-ILLINOIS-CITY-VILLAGE-DISTRICT-AGREEMENT

 

 

Copyright 2003 All Rights Reserved by  Lisle-Woodridge Fire District