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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05 - Exchange of Open Water Lifeguard ServicesCITY OF NEWPORT BEACH CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT Agenda Item No. s February 22, 2005 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: Fire Department Fire Chief Tim Riley, 644 -3101 triley @city.newport- beach.ca.us SUBJECT: County -wide Emergency Response Agreement for Exchange of Open Water Lifeguard Services ISSUE: Should the City enter into a reciprocal agreement to share open water lifeguard services with other agencies in the county that provide similar services? Recommendation: The City Council approve the Emergency Response Agreement for Exchange of Open Water Lifeguard Services between the California Departments of Parks and Recreation, the County of Orange, the City of Huntington Beach, the Lake Mission Viejo Association, the City of Newport Beach, the City of San Clemente and the City of Seal Beach. Background: For more than forty years, Orange County fire departments have been sharing resources across jurisdictional boundaries to ensure prompt emergency service to our border constituents. This has been accomplished through the use of automatic aid, mutual aid and assistance for hire agreements. To a lesser degree, lifeguard agencies have been sharing resources across jurisdictional boundaries using an informal mutual aid system. Automatic aid agreements are those that provide for the sharing of pre - selected resources from one jurisdiction into another, as programmed into our respective computer aided dispatch computers. This occurs automatically, without any further review or request. An example of automatic aid is the automatic dispatch of our temporary fire station resources into West Santa Ana Heights. Emergency Response Agreement for Lifeguard Services February 22, 2005 Page 2 Mutual aid agreements are the reciprocal sharing of like resources on an as- needed, as- requested, as- approved basis. One agency makes the request of another agency, which reviews each request before approving or disapproving said request. A great example of that is the huge number of mutual aid units that responded into Laguna Beach during their 1993 fire storms event. We have been a member of the State of California Master Mutual Aid Agreement for many years. Assistance by hire is when one agency agrees to pay another agency for the use of a specified resource. An example of this is when a jurisdiction uses aircraft for fighting fires; they pay for the time used at the pre- agreed rate. The lifeguard agencies listed above desire to create a formal agreement that governs the use of mutual aid between their jurisdictions. The attached agreement has been prepared for your consideration. In general, the agreement acknowledges the mutual benefit of cross - jurisdictional assistance as the policy of each party to the agreement and authorizes the Fire Chief from each jurisdiction to establish the specific level of assistance through the use of a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU). A copy of the MOU is attached as reference. This is consistent with the established agreements for fire resources between the City of Newport Beach and the County of Orange, the City of Costa Mesa and the City of Huntington Beach. Environmental Review: This agreement has no requirement for environmental review. Prepared and Submitted by: Attachments: Emergency Response Agreement Sample M.O.U. Emergency Response Agreement for Lifeguard Services February 22, 2005 Page 3 EMERGENCY RESPONSE AGREEMENT FOR EXCHANGE OF OPEN WATER LIFEGUARD SERVICES THIS AGREEMENT, made and entered into this 22th day of February 2005, by and between California Department of Parks and Recreation, the County of Orange, the City of Huntington Beach, the City of Laguna Beach, the Lake Mission Viejo Association, the City of Newport Beach, the City of San Clemente, and the City of Seal Beach hereinafter referred to as "The Agencies" WHEREAS, the agencies provide open water lifeguard services within their respective jurisdictions; and WHEREAS, the agencies have found it to be of mutual benefit if the services of each agency are in some circumstances extended outside of the limits of each jurisdiction into the boundaries of the other; and WHEREAS, the agencies desire to enter into an emergency response agreement, where, in some circumstances, one agency will respond to an emergency incident occurring within the jurisdictional limits of the other agency; NOW, THEREFORE, for and in consideration of the covenants contained herein, the agencies hereby agree as follows: 1. This Agreement is a guide for day -to -day operations. The specific details of the service to be provided under this Agreement and the general operational policies, including, but not limited to, response areas and types of equipment, operational command, incident reports, dispatch and communications, training, response maps and preplans, and evaluation of effectiveness shall be determined by the agencies' designee in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Operational components of the MOU may be amended by the mutual written agreement of the agencies designee. Any change in the MOU which constitutes a change in policy shall be approved by the Governing Body of the agencies. 2. Each agency shall, at its own expense, develop and provide for the necessary cross connections of its communication system with the communication system of the other. 3. Each agency shall, at its own expense, provide to the other agency a predetermined grid mapping system designating the response area for its areas Emergency Response Agreement for Lifeguard Services February 22, 2005 Page 4 included in this Agreement. 4. The services provided by each agency pursuant to this Agreement shall be provided at no cost to the other agency. In the event a state or local emergency is declared, this Agreement shall not constitute a waiver of the rights of the respective agency's to claim state and /or federal reimbursement. 5. The agencies' designee or their designated representatives shall determine and agree upon the capabilities of each agency to respond to incidents requiring special equipment. 6. The agencies understand and agree that the agencies' response to a request for aid shall depend upon any existing conditions within its own jurisdiction and the availability of its resources. 7. For purposes of liaison and the administration of this agreement, the agencies' designees are designated as the representatives of each agency to this Agreement, and they shall be jointly responsible for administration of this Agreement. 8. This Agreement shall become operational and effective upon execution by all parties. The Agreement shall remain in effect until termination by any agency. It is further agreed that any agency may terminate the Agreement at any time by giving written notice to all other agencies at least sixty days (60) prior to the date of termination. 9. The agencies agree that the provisions of this Agreement are not intended to directly benefit, and shall not be enforceable by, any person or entity not a party to this Agreement. By entering into this Agreement, none of the parties waives any of the immunities provided under state or federal law. 10. Notwithstanding the provisions of Government Code 895.2, each agency shall defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the other parties and its officers, agents, employees and representatives from any and all losses, liability, damages, claims, suits, actions and administrative proceedings, and demands and all expenditures and cost relating to acts or omissions of the indemnitor, its officers, agents or employees arising out of or incidental to the performance of any of the provisions of this Agreement. None of the agencies assumes liability for the acts or omissions of persons other than each agency's respective officers, agents or employees. Emergency Response Agreement for Lifeguard Services February 22, 2005 Page 5 This Agreement is not intended to confer any legal rights or benefits on any person or entity other than the parties of this Agreement. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement on the day and year first above written. CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION IN COUNTY OF ORANGE CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH an CITY OF LAGUNA BEACH 0 Dated: Dated: Dated: LAKE MISSION VIEJO ASSOCIATION 0 CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH Dated: By: Dated: CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE 0 CITY OF SEAL BEACH Emergency Response Agreement for Lifeguard Services February 22, 2005 Page 6 Dated: By: Dated: Emergency Response Agreement for Lifeguard Services February 22, 2005 Page 7 MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING FOR EXCHANGE OF OPEN WATER LIFEGUARD SERVICES This Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is authorized by the agency designees in an Agreement for Exchange of Open Water Lifeguard Services dated February 22, 2005 and is subject to the terms and conditions set forth in said Agreement. The purpose of this MOU is to outline the procedures for implementing the Agreement between the California Department of Parks and Recreation, the County of Orange, the City of Huntington Beach, the City of Laguna Beach, the Lake Mission Viejo Association, the City of Newport Beach, the City of San Clemente, and the City of Seal Beach. This MOU provides the specific details for day -to -day operations. This MOU shall by reference incorporate all of the provisions of the Emergency Response Agreement for Exchange of Open Water Lifeguard Services. In no event shall any jurisdiction be obligated to provide services if that jurisdiction determines at its sole and absolute discretion that it does not have the resources to respond. Changes in this written MOU may be made at any time by mutual written agreement of the agency designees. A signed amendment to this document will be prepared accordingly and distributed to all holders. AMOUNT AND TYPE OF ASSISTANCE This MOU is for the exchange of emergency Open Water Lifeguard Services. The identified open water lifeguard resources will respond to emergencies as set forth below. For the purposes of this MOU, the following definitions will apply to identified resources: Incident Commander: refers to an officer capable of and responsible for commanding incident resources and overall scene management. Land Unit: refers to a Open Water Lifeguard resource with 4 wheel drive capability capable of driving on soft sand, with a minimum staffing level of 1. SCUBA Diver: refers to Open Water Lifeguard personnel trained at a level of basic open water SCUBA. Minimal gear shall consist of: (1) buoyancy compensator; (2) 2 full air tanks with a regulator; (3) fins, mask, snorkel; (4) reserve regulator; Emergency Response Agreement for Lifeguard Services February 22, 2005 Page 8 (5) compass; (6) full wetsuit, and (7) depth gauge. Rescue Boat: refers to a Open Water Lifeguard resource capable of carrying passengers inside enclosed gunnels with a minimum of 2 persons on board consisting of an operator and a deckhand. Personal Watercraft: refers to a personal watercraft with towing /rescue capabilities with 1 operator. Additional resources not described in this MOU may be requested by the Incident Commander or appropriate dispatch center. OPERATIONAL COMMAND The first arriving officer will assume command until he or she reassigns command or is relieved by a senior officer. The highest- ranking officer from the authority having jurisdiction will have the ultimate authority to assume command. All operations will be conducted in a coordinated and organized manner. INCIDENT REPORTS When units of both agencies have responded to an incident, the unit of the agency having jurisdiction will be responsible for preparing the incident report. When no units from the jurisdictional agency respond to an incident, the units from the responding jurisdiction shall prepare their own incident report and the responding agency shall provide copies of the incident report to the jurisdictional agency. DISPATCH AND COMMUNICATIONS Request for services will follow the guidelines noted below: a) Contact shall be made to the dispatch center through pre - established communication links requesting a resource by department and unit type identified in this Agreement. b) All necessary information including address, type of emergency, tactical radio frequency and related information that is available shall be relayed to responding units and updated as appropriate. c) The agency receiving the request shall dispatch the requested resource, if available, and shall provide the responding units with all pertinent information, identifying the jurisdictional dispatch center and tactical radio frequency. d) If the requested type of unit is not available and located so as to result in an extended response time, the requesting agency's dispatch center will be advised Emergency Response Agreement for Lifeguard Services February 22, 2005 Page 9 of the delay to ensure that the closest unit will respond. e) If the requested unit encounters delays resulting from seasonal, traffic, or other restrictions, so as to result in an extended response time, the requesting agency's dispatch center will be immediately advised of the delay. TRAINING Periodic interagency training shall be conducted for the purpose of improving working relationships and operational coordination. This training shall be coordinated through the agencies Training Officers. RESPONSE MAPS AND PREPLANS Upon execution of this MOU, each agency shall provide the other with current standard response maps and shall provide updated versions as changes occur. EVALUATION The effectiveness of the procedures contained in this MOU shall be evaluated annually, or as significant changes occur, by the agency designees. 7:371 District Superintendent, California Department of Parks and Recreation Date: 7:37 Director, Community Services, City of Huntington Beach M Park District Supervisor, County of Orange Date: M Marine Safety Chief, City of Laguna Beach Date: Date: Lifeguard Captain Lake Mission Viejo Association Date: M Marine Safety Chief, City of San Clemente Emergency Response Agreement for Lifeguard Services February 22, 2005 Page 10 Fire Chief, City of Newport Beach Date: Lifeguard Captain, City of Seal Beach Date: Date: