2023 Indiana Code › Title 10. Public Safety › Article 14. Emergency Management › Chapter 3. Emergency Management and Disaster Law › 10-14-3-10.8. Intrastate Mutual Aid Program

Sec. 10.8. (a) The following definitions apply to this section:
(1) "Chief executive" means:
(A) the chief executive of a participant, or the chief executive's designee, for purposes of the intrastate mutual aid compact created under this section; or
(B) if the participant does not have a chief executive, a member of the participant's governing body or the governing body's designee for purposes of the intrastate mutual aid compact created under this section.
(2) "Emergency management agency" means an organization for emergency management established under this chapter.
(3) "Participant" means any of the following:
(A) A political subdivision.
(B) A volunteer fire department.
(C) A fire department established by the board of trustees of a state educational institution (as defined in IC 21-7-13-32), including a fire department established by the board of trustees of Purdue University under IC 21-39-7.
The term does not include an entity under clause (A), (B), or (C) that chooses to reject participation in the intrastate mutual aid program by adopting an ordinance or resolution declaring that the entity will not participate in the intrastate mutual aid program and provides a copy of the appropriate ordinance or resolution to the agency and to the emergency management agency serving the entity.
(4) "Planned event" means a scheduled nonemergency activity. Planned event includes a sporting event, concert, or parade.
(5) "Provider participant" means a participant that provides assistance or aid to a requesting participant under the intrastate mutual aid compact created under this section.
(6) "Requesting participant"means a participant that receives assistance or aid from a provider participant under the intrastate mutual aid compact created under this section.
(7) "Volunteer fire department" has the meaning set forth in IC 36-8-12-2.
(b) This section creates an intrastate mutual aid program to be known as Indiana's intrastate mutual aid compact to complement existing mutual aid agreements. This program has the following two (2) purposes:
(1) Provide for mutual assistance or aid among participants for purposes of preparing for, responding to, and recovering from any incident, disaster, exercise, training activity, or planned event that requires additional resources.
(2) Establish a method by which a participant may seek assistance or aid that:
(A) resolves many of the common issues facing political subdivisions before, during, and after an incident, disaster, exercise, training activity, or planned event, any of which requires additional resources; and
(B) ensures, to the extent possible, eligibility for available state and federal disaster assistance or other funding.
(c) Each participant shall, to the extent practicable, identify and inventory the current services, equipment, supplies, personnel, and other resources related to the preparedness, response, and recovery activities of the participant. The participant shall perform the identification and inventory in coordination with, to the extent feasible, all departments, divisions, boards, commissions, agencies, and other instrumentalities within the participant.
(d) A participant that is impacted by any incident, disaster, exercise, training activity, or planned event that requires additional resources may request mutual assistance or aid from any other participant. This request shall be made by the chief executive of the requesting participant to the chief executive of a provider participant. If the request is made orally, the requesting participant shall provide the provider participant with written confirmation of the request not later than seventy-two (72) hours after the oral request is made. A request must provide the following information:
(1) A description of the incident, disaster, exercise, training activity, or planned event.
(2) A description of the assistance or aid needed.
(3) An estimate of the length of time the assistance or aid will be needed.
(4) The specific place and time for staging of the assistance or aid and a point of contact at that location.
(5) A statement that the request for assistance is being made through the intrastate mutual aid compact.
(e) A provider participant shall provide assistance or aid to a requestor participant subject to the following:
(1) The provider participant may withhold resources the provider participant determines to be necessary to provide for the provider participant's own protection.
(2) Personnel of the provider participant shall continue under the personnel's local command and control structure, but shall be under the operational control of the appropriate officials within the incident management system of the requesting participant.
(3) Law enforcement officers rendering assistance or aid under this section have the same powers and duties as law enforcement officers of the requesting participant, but only for the period the law enforcement officers are engaged in activities authorized by the requesting participant, and are subject to the law as if the law enforcement officers were providing services within the law enforcement officer's own jurisdiction.
(f) Each provider participant shall provide for the payment of compensation and benefits to:
(1) an injured member; and
(2) a representative of a deceased member;
of the provider participant's emergency forces, if the member is injured or killed while rendering assistance under this section in the same manner and on the same terms as if the injury or death were sustained while the member was rendering assistance for or within the member's own jurisdiction.
(g) Personnel of a provider participant shall be considered, while rendering assistance or aid, or while en route to or from rendering assistance or aid, to a requesting participant, to be agents of the provider participant for purposes of tort liability and immunity from tort liability under state law.
(h) If a person:
(1) holds a license, certificate, or other permit issued by a participant evidencing qualification in a professional, mechanical, or other skill; and
(2) provides assistance or aid at the request of a provider participant;
the person shall be considered to be licensed or certified in or permitted by the requesting participant to render the assistance or aid.
(i) Subject to subsection (k) and except as provided in subsection (j), a provider participant shall be reimbursed by the requesting participant for the following:
(1) Any loss of or damage to, or expense incurred in the operation of, any equipment used in rendering the assistance or aid. To avoid duplication of payments, insurance proceeds available to cover any loss of or damage to equipment of a provider participant shall be considered in the reimbursement by the requesting participant.
(2) Any expense incurred in the provision of any service used in rendering the assistance or aid.
(3) All other costs incurred in responding to the request for assistance or aid.
(j) A provider participant may not be reimbursed for:
(1) the first twelve (12) hours of mutual assistance or aid provided to the requesting participant; or
(2) expenses the provider participant incurs under subsection (f).
(k) A provider participant may do any of the following:
(1) Assume, in whole or in part, any loss, damage, expense, or cost the provider participant incurs in rendering the assistance or aid.
(2) Loan, without charge, any equipment, or donate any service, to the requesting participant.
(3) Enter into agreements with one (1) or more other participants to establish different allocations of losses, damages, expenses, or costs among the participants.
(l) Nothing in this section does any of the following:
(1) Prohibits a private company from participating in the provision of mutual assistance or aid under the intrastate mutual aid compact created under this section if:
(A) the participant approves the participation; and
(B) the contract with the private company allows for the participation.
(2) Precludes a participant from entering into a mutual aid or other agreement with another political subdivision or participant.
(3) Affects any other agreement to which a participant may be a party or any request for assistance or aid that may be made, under any other state statute.
As added by P.L.85-2015, SEC.5.