It TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: Bernard Molloy, Fire Chief
PREPARED BY: Bernard Molloy, Fire Chief
SUBJECT:
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Cooperative Agreement for Hazardous Material Services between Murrieta Fire & Rescue and Corona Fire Department
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RECOMMENDATION
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Approve a Cooperative Agreement with the City of Corona for Hazardous Materials Responses; and
Authorize the City Manager to execute the Cooperative Agreement.
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PRIOR ACTION/VOTE
In 2002, Murrieta Fire joined the County of Riverside Fire Mutual Aid Plan. This document provides an outline of shared responses in Riverside County.
On June 6, 2023, the Murrieta City Council approved an automatic aid agreement with Riverside County Fire (5-0).
CITY COUNCIL GOAL
Provide a high level of innovative public safety.
DISCUSSION
Murrieta Fire & Rescue (MFR) is dedicated to providing comprehensive emergency services but currently does not maintain its own Hazardous Materials (Hazmat) Response Team. To ensure robust capabilities for specialized incidents, MFR relies on and actively seeks inter-agency cooperation.
Emergency response in California operates under the California Emergency Services Act and the Master Mutual Aid Agreement, which establishes a tiered system where local jurisdictions first utilize their own resources, then those within their Operational Area (County), and finally State resources like CAL FIRE. Riverside County also has a Fire Mutual Aid Plan, which allows the Riverside County Fire Department to provide Hazmat resources; these are typically dispatched as "Assistance-by-Hire" (ABH), meaning the requesting agency is immediately responsible for associated costs.
To enhance Murrieta's Hazardous Materials response capabilities and provide an additional, more agile option, MFR has developed a Cooperative Agreement with the City of Corona Fire Department. The City of Corona maintains a Type II State Certified Hazardous Materials Response Team. This agreement allows Murrieta to access Corona's specialized Hazardous Materials team for incidents within MFR’s jurisdiction.
This Cooperative Agreement with Corona Fire Department is a strategic enhancement that augments Murrieta's existing emergency response framework; it does not replace the vital role of CAL FIRE or the broader mutual aid system. Instead, it provides Murrieta with another pre-arranged option for hazardous materials responses. While Corona's response is voluntary and contingent on their availability, the agreement outlines that no payment is required for the first six hours of assistance, after which it reverts to an Assistance-by-Hire model. This arrangement offers a cost-effective and specialized initial response, complementing the larger-scale support available through the state mutual aid system for more extensive or prolonged incidents.
This proactive measure ensures Murrieta has diversified and specialized resources readily available. This Cooperative Agreement is a proactive measure to enhance public safety by ensuring access to specialized hazardous materials response, complementing existing mutual aid frameworks, and formalizing the terms of such critical assistance.
FISCAL IMPACT
Acceptance of this Cooperative Agreement has a potential fiscal impact only in the event that the Corona Fire Department's Hazmat Team responds to an incident within Murrieta's jurisdiction for a duration exceeding six hours. In such cases, the City of Murrieta would be responsible for "Assistance-by-Hire" costs from the time of initial dispatch at Corona Fire Department's adopted hourly rate, plus the cost of disposable supplies and materials.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Cooperative Agreement with the City of Corona for Hazardous Materials Responses