Mutual Aid

The Hanford Fire Department participates in a mutual aid agreement with 16 surrounding fire departments, districts, and agencies. These include municipal departments in the local cities, from Prosser to College Place, and local fire districts in Benton, Franklin, and Walla Walla counties. Through this agreement, the department responds to requests for assistance with all types of emergency responses, such as structure fires, wildland/urban interface fires, mass casualty medical incidents, and other emergencies that tax the resources of our neighbors. The Hanford Fire Department is involved in the majority of major fires and other emergencies in the area through this agreement, as well as serving on the region's emergency incident management overhead team.

The regional overhead team is comprised of experts in various areas of emergency response. Hanford personnel are qualified through the Washington State Department of Natural Resources to act as incident commanders, division supervisors, strike team leaders, staging area managers, and finance officers, as well as other positions within the incident command structure. During a large emergency, these overhead team members respond to the command post to assist with mitigation and management of the incident efforts.

In 1997, the HFD responded to 14 requests for mutual aid, ranging from ambulance runs when the city departments were tied up with other emergencies, to commercial structure fires, to range fires threatening local homes and businesses. The Department of Energy encourages participation in mutual aid agreements as a benefit to the site, as responses to these incidents help members of the fire department improve their skills during actual emergencies and is reciprocal in nature.

Through the Tri-County Mutual Aid Agreement, the HFD can call for response from other area departments during site emergencies. Having additional trained emergency responders and fire apparatus immediately available through mutual aid strengthens the emergency response capability of the department. In past years, local departments have been invaluable in stopping large range fires that threatened the site.

Participation in mutual aid also helps offset some of the cost of the fire department, as the expense of responding to the incident can often be recovered. The State of Washington has established a state mobilization program to ensure adequate response to emergencies, and to allow departments to recover the cost of responding to such events.