Mutual Aid

What does mutual aid mean?

• Neighboring departments assist Flower Mound when the Town's resources and staffing are insufficient for the response
• Flower Mound provides equipment and personnel, responding to both routine and complex emergencies/disasters in our region
•  Flower Mound provides or receives assistance for State and Federal disaster recovery

How does mutual aid align with the Town Council's Strategic Goals?

The Town Council previously established Strategic Goals for the Town of Flower Mound. Providing and receiving mutual aid speaks to two of the eight goals:

• Safety and Security - Ensure the safety and security of individuals and property for those who live, work, and play in Flower Mound
• Regional Cooperation – Provide leadership and influence to promote the success of the region and ensure cooperation with other area entities

Types of Aid

• Mutual Aid is assistance that is dispatched, upon request, by the local responding fire department.
  • Example: Lewisville requests Flower Mound to the scene of a two-alarm structure fire or Flower Mound requests Grapevine to respond with a Medic Ambulance to transport a patient from a multi-car accident in Flower Mound.  
  • This type of aid is exchanged within our region on a regular basis. 
  • This type of aid is unpredictable.
• Automatic Aid is assistance that is dispatched automatically by a contractual agreement between two fire departments.
  • Example: An Automatic Aid Agreement between Flower Mound and Highland Village automatically provides a paramedic engine company in extreme northeast Flower Mound and Flower Mound automatically provides an engine to commercial fire alarms in Highland Village.
  • This type of aid occurs on a frequent basis and better assures the appropriate resource type is assigned to the run. With ambulance transport units remaining available for medical runs rather than responding to commercial fire alarms. 
  • Automatic aid is more predictable than mutual aid.
• Contracted Services further assures Flower Mound's resources are assigned to calls that are very close in proximity to Flower Mound's fire stations and provides emergency services to citizens in the most efficient manner for the resources available to the region.  
  • Example: Flower Mound automatically provides Emergency Medical Services to Double Oak on a contractual basis. Flower Mound currently provides Fire and EMS coverage automatically to the Northlake portion of the Canyon Falls development, under a contract with Denton County Emergency Services District No. 1. 

  • Contracted services is the most predictable type of aid.