Murrieta Fire, Cal Fire Begin 'Automatic Aid' Agreement

MURRIETA, CA — A new Automatic Aid agreement was established between Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department and the Murrieta Fire & Rescue. The agencies were authorized to partner with each other, enabling either agency to immediately assist the other in the interest of public safety and timeliness during emergencies, according to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors Tuesday meeting.

Board Chairman Kevin Jeffries, a former firefighter, discussed the new mutual aid non-binding compact.

"Fire departments have so much pride in their departments, and they can let that get in the way of working with nearby partners," Jeffries said."They tend to forget that the first priority is serving the public. People don't care what color the patch is; they just want the firefighters there."

There are no binding payment obligations between the entities, and the aid can be canceled at any time, according to the board meeting. County fire personnel and Murrieta firefighters will have the option to respond across jurisdictions when circumstances warrant.

The goal, according to the agreement, is to keep response times under 12 minutes.

Murrieta Fire Chief Bernard Molloy shared his thoughts with the board.

"We're looking to take advantage of new technologies that we have to allow us to make sure we bring the closest unit to the scene when there's a fire or critical medical situation going on," Molloy said. "We can't build perfect maps or fire stations, but this allows us to borrow from our neighboring agencies to ensure we're responding to these emergencies."

County fire Chief Bill Weiser said the compact will enable the county and city to "share our resources more seamlessly."

It's not the first automatic aid agreement that the county has entered into with another jurisdiction, and it builds on mutual aid connections already in place for wildfire response, according to officials.

"For all fire and rescue calls, each agency will receive the closest unit, regardless of agency of origin, as well as the closest available and appropriate unit from the agency having authority to complete necessary reporting," the agreement states.

The county and Murrieta 911 dispatchers can now communicate with one another as part of the initiative.

Supervisor Chuck Washington shared his thoughts on the matter as imperative for the residents they serve.

"This is how fire departments work together for the good of residents and communities," Washington said.

The agreement has no sunset date.

City News Service contributed to this report.