The fire service mutual aid system in Florida is operated by the Florida Fire Chiefs Association in cooperation with the State Fire Marshal and is closely associated with the emergency management system. This network is primarily involved in coordinating fire service mutual aid between counties, similar to the California system.
Mutual aid coordinators have been designated and local mutual aid plans have been adopted within each county. These plans provide a system for requesting and coordinating assistance and managing incidents among those fire departments. The mutual aid coordinator is usually a chief officer from one of the fire departments in the county.
When a situation exceeds the capabilities of a county’s own resources, the county coordinator can request assistance through the Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee. The EOC then contacts the mutual aid and coordinators in other counties that have resources available and authorizes them to dispatch units to fill the requests.
The mutual aid resources are usually dispatched as task forces or strike teams, assembled from the fire departments within the county. The local fire departments are reimbursed by the state for this assistance.
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