Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District working on plan for automatic aid

Fire Commissioners and Reno City Council direct staff to prepare for automatic aid agreement.

Reno, Nevada. June 15, 2015. The Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District (TMFPD) Board of Fire Commissioners and Reno City Council approved an outline and timeline for an automatic aid agreement at Monday’s concurrent meeting.

The TMFPD Board of Fire Commissioners and Reno City Council agreed to a 30- to 60-day timeline to construct a plan for automatic aid. According to Senate Bill 185, TMFPD and the City of Reno must implement automatic aid by Oct. 1, 2015.  

The Board discussed the following regarding an automatic aid agreement:

• Identify the geographic locations where Senate Bill 185 would trigger an automatic response.
• Reimbursement regarding aid given to determine if inequity exists; develop a mechanism for reimbursement if necessary.
• How to use automatic vehicle locators to help dispatch locate any fire units that are closest to an incident.
• Joint training opportunities.

 “I think it’s best for both elected officials from each entity to trust our safety teams and make sure we listen to them so we all do what’s best to make sure our citizens are safe,” said Washoe County Commission Chair Marsha Berkbigler.

The TMFPD Board of Fire Commissioners and Reno City Council also discussed fire consolidation with Reno and agreed to continue those discussions in the future.

The next concurrent meeting to discuss fire services is Monday, Aug. 3, 2015.