What's mutual aid and how does a department with one station and limited manpower and equipment manage it's larger fires...........with mutual aid of course! Mutual aid is the process of neighboring fire departments assisting each other in the event of large fires, accidents or disasters. PCVFD uses and provides mutual aid through manpower and apparatus support. Through mutual aid agreements fire departments have preset guidelines to assist each other in times that would warrant extra manpower or the need for extra apparatus such as a school or large structure fire. The benefit of mutual aid was demonstrated by a large fire on the Spencer town square which involved half of a city block bordering the town square. Approximately 9 different fire departments responded with manpower and apparatus to this fire. Mutual aid can be requested on an as needed basis including during normal work hours for a majority of our volunteers. This ensures that the residents in our area are never without fire protection. Automatic mutual aid protocols can also be agreed upon by neighboring departments in advance to compensate for inadequate water supply or manpower. Some departments that provide or request mutual aid from PCVFD are Franklin Township FD, Bowling Green FD, Coal City FD, Poland FD and Owen Valley FD.