[cifnmedia] What's MABAS doing for Lincoln?
- From: Sean & Kimberly Aaron <cifn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: CIFN LIST <cifnmedia@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2004 08:10:21 -0800 (PST)
What's MABAS doing for Lincoln?
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[FEB. 21, 2004] OK, first what is MABAS? MABAS stands for Mutual Aid Box Alarm
System. It is a statewide mutual aid response system that offers member
agencies equipment and the personnel to run that equipment in time of need. The
assistance is especially important for smaller departments that don't have a
lot of equipment. This type of mutual aid is especially beneficial to fire
departments.
It took months of planning and there were plenty of i's to dot and t's to
cross, including insurance liability and union approval. But when the city of
Lincoln passed the MABAS agreement Tuesday evening, Fire Chief Bucky Washam was
excited to get going. Wednesday he began calling Logan County fire departments.
On Friday the local department received training on how the system works.
The new mutual aid can geographically draw backup support from Bloomington,
Decatur, Springfield and all around Lincoln. "If I need an extra aerial truck,
I can call a department that has one and they send it out with four men," Chief
Washam said. He can get both equipment and additional personnel, he said.
The additional support could be of greatest value in the event of a large-scale
or ongoing incident.
[to top of second column in this article]
Another mutual aid agreement, between Logan County and Macon County ESDAs,
demonstrates that. The counties have shared resources, training, practices and
have provided emergency response in actual events. This relationship has
provided Lincoln with additional assets and manpower a number of times in the
past.
The most recent assistance was during last May's tornado, when a 10-block area
of Lincoln was heavily damaged just before nightfall and left with no power all
night. Macon County sent their mobile communications unit, which provided extra
radios, and some of their search and rescue team to walk the streets all night
looking for injured and providing life and property protection.
Sean A. Aaron (CIFN*1)
Central Illinois Fire Network
cifn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.geocities.com/central_illinois_firenet
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