2003 S EMS - State Mutual Aid Agreement

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• Section II. INITIAL RECOGNITION OF PRINCIPLE BY ALL PARTIES; AGREEMENT PROVIDES NO RIGHT OF ACTION FOR THIRD PARTIES As this is a reciprocal contract, it is recognized that any party to this Agreement may be requested by another party to be a Provider. It is mutually understood that each party's foremost responsibility is to its own citizens. The provisions of this Agreement shall not be construed to impose an unconditional obligation on any party to this Agreement to provide aid and assistance pursuant to a request from another parry. Accordingly, when aid and assistance have been requested, a party may in good faith withhold the resources necessary to provide reasonable and adequate protection for its own community, by deeming itself unavailable to respond and so informing the early setting forth the request. Given the finite resources of any jurisdiction and the potential for each party to be unavailable for aid and assistance at a given point in time, the parties mutually encourage each other to enlist other entities in mutual aid and assistance efforts and to enter into such agreements accordingly. Concomitantly, the parties fully recognize that there is a highly meritorious reason for entering into this Agreement, and accordingly shall attempt to render assistance in accordance with the terms of this Agreement to the fullest extent possible. Pursuant to G.S. 166A-14 and as elaborated upon in Section X of this Agreement, all functions and activities performed under this Agreement are hereby declared to be governmental functions. Functions and activities performed under this Agreement are carried out for the benefit of the general public and not for the benefit of any specific individual or individuals. Accordingly, this Agreement shall not be construed as or deemed to be an agreement for the benefit of any third parties or persons and no third parties or persons shall have any right of action under this Agreement for any cause whatsoever. All immunities provided by law shall be fully applicable as elaborated upon in Section X of this Agreement. Section III. PROCEDURES FOR REQUESTING ASSISTANCE Mutual aid and assistance shall not be requested unless the resources available within the stricken area are deemed inadequate by Recipient. When Recipient becomes affected by a disaster and deems its resources inadequate, it may request mutual aid and assistance by communicating the request to Provider, indicating the request is made pursuant to this mutual aid agreement. The request shall be followed as soon as practicable by a written confirmation of that request, including the transmission of a proclamation of Local state of emergency under G.S. 166A-8 and Article 36 A of Chapter 14 of the NC General Statutes, and a completed form describing its projected needs in light of the disaster. All requests for mutual aid and assistance shall be transmitted by the parry's Authorized Representative or to the Coordinator of the Local Agency as set forth below. A. METHOD OF REQUEST FOR MUTUAL A/D AND ASS/STANCE: Recipient shall set forth requests by means of one of the two options described as follows: (i) REQUESTS ROUTED THROUGH THE RECIPIENTS LOCAL AGENCY: Recipient may directly contact the Local Agency, in which case it shall provide the Local Agency with the information in paragraph 8 of this Section (Section III). The Local Agency shall then contact other parties on behalf of Recipient to coordinate the provision of mutual aid and assistance. Recipient shall be responsible for the costs and expenses incurred by any Provider in providing aid and assistance pursuant to Section VII of this Agreement. (ii) REQUESTS MADE DIRECTLY TO PROVIDER: Recipient may directly contact Provider's authorized representative, setting forth the information in paragraph B of this Section (Section Ill). All communications shall be conducted directly between Recipient and Provider. Recipient shall be responsible for the costs and expenses incurred by any Provider in providing aid and assistance pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement as noted in Section VII of this Agreement. Provider and recipient shall be responsible for keeping Local Agencies advised of the status of response activities, in a timely manner. {iii) RECORD OF REQUESTS TO BE PROV/DED:A record of the request for assistance shall be provided by the Recipient to the Director of the Division of Emergency Management in the NC Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, in a timely manner. B. REQUIRED INFORMATION: Each request for assistance shall be accompanied by the following information, in writing or by any other available means, to the extent known: 1. Stricken Area and Sfatus:A general description summarizing the condition of the community (i.e., whether the disaster is imminent, in progress, or has already occurred) and of the damage sustained to date; 2. Services: Identification of the service function(s) for which assistance is needed and the particular type of assistance needed;