News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Alpena firefighters Lee Babcock, left, and Adam McNeill check out oxygen tanks while at work on Thursday. The Alpena Fire Department joined the Michigan Mutual Aid Box Alarm System, which requires it to respond to other member’s requests for assistance, and receive help from members when help is needed locally.

ALPENA — The Alpena Fire Department has become a member of the Michigan Mutual Aid Box Alarm System, which is an organized local, regional, and statewide mutual aid response system for fire, EMS and specialized incident operational teams.

Other townships in Alpena County are also moving forward with becoming a member of the emergency response program, Alpena Fire Chief Rob Edmonds said.

Currently, there are mutual-aid agreements between municipalities in Alpena County, but joining MABAS ensures that if there is a large emergency, neighboring counties and departments from around Michigan will respond with manpower, equipment, or special task forces.

Edmonds said there are three layers to the MABAS system. He said there is a local response, which is already in place and often used for emergencies like structure fires, and a regional response, for larger fires or a natural disaster like a tornado.

The third layer is a state-wide response call, which would send help from around the state. A plane crash or mass shooting episode could be examples when statewide assistance could be needed, Edmonds said.

The state is working with local emergency response departments to work together to create better response, especially in case of an incident that requires a statewide response, Edmonds said. He said MABAS members that send help to assist a partner are limited in how much help they can send, so adequate resources remain in their hometowns.

“They can only send 20% of their overall manpower and equipment,” he said. “MABAS outlines what each department’s responsibilities are and what their role is when an emergency happens. Some local department may just need to bring a water pumper and a couple guys, or a larger, more specialized response could be needed from anywhere around the state.

Edmonds said having statewide partners is key during large emergencies, but most of the time, if MASAS is needed, it be a local or regional response. He said Although the city is new to MABAS, there have already been times when the Alpena Fire Department was placed on standby in case additional assistance was needed for recent emergencies.

“We were on standby for the shooting at Michigan State, the brush fires near Grayling, and for the floods down state,” he said. “We weren’t needed, but we were on standby and ready to go if we needed to.”

Alpena and the surrounding townships aren’t the only ones working to become members of MABAS, townships in Presque Isle County are in the process of joining the response team too.

Michigan joins Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and several other Midwest states in implementing the MABAS program. Currently, there are 17 MABAS divisions in Michigan covering the state’s Emergency Management Regions: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7.

Within these regions, there are 250 member fire departments, an Urban Search and Rescue Task Force, Technical Rescue Strike Teams, Hazardous Material Response Teams, and an Incident Management Team.

Several more divisions are in the process of forming.