NCFPD approves North Zone automatic aid agreement

In 2002, North County Fire Protection District (NCFPD) was part of a North Zone automatic aid agreement which called for the sharing of fire department resources but did not include paramedic ambulances. Subsequent NCFPD agreements for dropped ambulance service boundaries have included an automatic aid agreement with the Vista, Oceanside, and Carlsbad fire departments and the Pala, Valley Center, and Deer Springs fire departments which contract with Mercy Medical Transport for ambulance services.

A new and more comprehensive North Regional Zone Master Automatic Aid Agreement for Fire-Rescue Responses and Support Activities which includes all fire department resources was approved by the NCFPD board on a 5-0 vote Jan. 26.

"It's a big step forward to share all resources, most notably paramedic ambulances," said NCFPD fire chief Stephen Abbott. "For us it's kind of business as usual, but it's a big step forward for the rest of North County."

The parties to the agreement, contingent upon agency approval, are the Camp Pendleton, Carlsbad, Deer Springs, Del Mar, Encinitas, Elfin Forest, Escondido, North County, Oceanside, Pala, Pauma, Rancho Santa Fe, Rincon, San Diego County, San Marcos, San Pasqual, Solana Beach, Valley Center, and Vista fire departments along with the Rincon Del Diablo, San Marcos, and Vista fire protection districts which contract with fire departments in incorporated cities to serve the communities' unincorporated areas.

Any party to the agreement may, upon determining mutual benefit, agree to provide resources without regard to political or other jurisdictional boundaries and thus allow implementation of the closest resource concept for determining response patterns.

The details of the operations, procedures, and other planning will be set in an operational plan, and the new agreement also covers cooperative planning and interdepartmental training and stipulates that all resources should train together where appropriate although each agency will be responsible for the expenses of training its own personnel.

An operational committee consisting of each fire chief or his or her designee will be used to implement provisions regarding operational procedures. The first fire officer who arrives at the scene of an incident shall have the role of incident commander regardless of the jurisdiction of where the incident occurs, although an officer from the district of the incident who subsequently arrives on the scene may assume command if he or she chooses.