Mutual Aid Agreement Law and Legal Definition
Mutual aid agreement means a written agreement between agencies, organizations, or jurisdictions to lend assistance across jurisdictional boundaries. It agrees to assist by furnishing personnel, equipment, and expertise in a specified manner at requisite time. Prior to the seeking of mutual aid agreement, an agency must first commit its own resources. Such agreements are executed when a disaster or a multiple alarm fire that exceeds the available local resources occurs. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), state, tribal and local governments and private nonprofit organizations frequently establish mutual aid agreements to provide emergency assistance to each other when disasters or emergencies occur. Mutual aid agreement provides for increased access to and fast delivery of critical resources during an emergency, professional solidarity in providing resources to affected communities. It also reassures the public that essential services will return quickly.
