Legal Documents of Sweetwater

State law reference
Tennessee Code Annotated, § 12-9-101, et seq., is the Interlocal Cooperation Act which authorizes municipalities and other governments to enter into mutual aid agreements of various kinds.

State law reference
Tennessee Code Annotated, § 6-54-601 authorizes municipalities

(1) To enter into mutual aid agreements with other municipalities, counties, privately incorporated fire departments, utility districts and metropolitan airport authorities which provide for firefighting service, and with industrial fire departments, to furnish one another with fire fighting assistance.

(2)Enter into contracts with organizations of residents and property owners of unincorporated communities to provide such communities with firefighting assistance.

(3)Provide fire protection outside their city limits to either citizens on an individual contractual basis, or to citizens in an area without individual contracts, whenever an agreement has first been entered into between the municipality providing the fire service and the county or counties in which the fire protection is to be provided. (Counties may compensate municipalities for the extension of fire services.)

State law reference
Tennessee Code Annotated, § 58-2-111(c) authorizes any municipality or other local governmental entity to go outside of its boundaries in response to a request for emergency assistance by another local government. It does not create a duty to respond to or to stay at the scene of an emergency outside its jurisdiction.

This statute, as amended, does not require written agreements between the local governments, but authorizes them to develop policies and procedures for requesting and responding to requests for emergency assistance, including provisions for compensation for service rendered.

The statute specifies which municipal officers may request and respond to requests for emergency assistance and provides for the appointment by municipal governing bodies of additional municipal officers with the same authority.

The statute provides that the senior officer of the requesting party will be in command at the scene of the emergency.

The statute outlines the liabilities of the requesting and responding governments as follows: (1)Neither the responding party nor its employees shall be liable for any property damage or bodily injury at the actual scene of any emergency due to actions performed in responding to a request for emergency assistance; (2)The requesting party is not liable for damages to the equipment and personnel of the responding party in response to the request for emergency assistance; and (3)Neither the requesting party nor its employees is liable for damages caused by the negligence of the personnel of the responding party while enroute to or from the scene of the emergency.