MABAS Division 4

What is MABAS?

Mutual Aid Box Alarm System

MABAS is a mutual aid organization that has been in existence since the late 1960s. Heavily rooted throughout northern Illinois, MABAS includes over 550 member fire departments organized within 46 divisions. MABAS divisions geographically span an area from Lake Michigan to west of Rockford and south through Champaign-Urbana, Douglas County, St. Clair County, and St. Louis. Four Wisconsin divisions also share MABAS with their Illinois counterparts. Interest is also becoming evident from the Iowa, Indiana, and Missouri bordering communities.

MABAS includes over 25,000+ firefighters and daily staffed emergency response units including more than 750 fire stations, 900+ engine companies, 275+ ladder trucks, 600+ ambulances (mostly paramedic capable), 150+ heavy rescue squads, 125+ light rescue squads, and 225+ water tankers. Fire/EMS reserve (back-up) units account for more than 600 additional emergency vehicles.

MABAS also offers specialized operations teams for hazardous materials (HAZMAT), underwater rescue/recovery (DIVE) and above grade/below grade, trench and building collapse rescues a.k.a. Technical Rescue Teams (TRT). An additional element of resource are the certified fire investigators which can be "packaged" as teams for larger incidents requiring complicated and time-consuming efforts for any single agency.

MABAS is a unique organization in that every MABAS participant agency has signed the same contract with their 550+ counterpart MABAS agencies. As a MABAS agency, you agree to: standards of operation, incident command, minimal equipment staffing, safety and on-scene terminology. MABAS agencies, regardless of their geopolitical origin, are able to work together seamlessly on any emergency scene. All MABAS agencies operate on a common radio frequency, Interagency Fire Emergency Radio Network (IFERN) and are activated for response through pre-designed "run" cards each participating agency designs and tailors to meet their local risk need. MABAS also provides mutual aid station coverage to a stricken community when their fire/EMS resources are committed to an incident for an extended period.

MABAS extra alarms are commanded by the stricken community and dispatch control is handled through the stricken community's MABAS division dispatch center. Over 850 MABAS extra alarm incidents occur annually throughout the 46 divisions of MABAS. The expansion of mutual aid to a statewide system doesn't require all municipalities and fire districts to join MABAS as a member agency, however, MABAS is a recognized response agency by the State of Illinois as a primary response agency for disasters and other declared emergencies.

On a daily basis, communities face emergencies, which overtax their local fire/EMS and special operations capabilities. Often the "local" crisis doesn't warrant the state's Declaration of Disaster and its accompanying statutory powers. Without a Declaration of Disaster or Declaration of an Emergency, statewide mutual aid cannot be activated, nor are the statutory powers in force for an assisting agency's reimbursement, liability and workmen's compensation coverage. When such cases exist, being a MABAS member agency affords invaluable benefits to a stricken community, regardless of where the community is located.

As a MABAS member agency, every community has the same agreement as the 550 other communities-- all agreeing to send pre-determined resources, without reservation (but always "as available"), to assist a stricken community. Without a formal written mutual aid agreement (such as MABAS), a request for mutual aid assistance becomes a voluntary act, putting the Fire Chief and his employing community who might send the resource, at great risk should equipment be damaged, or if a firefighter is injured or killed in the line of duty.