OKCFD, Edmond Fire Enter Automatic Aid Agreement

The two biggest fire departments in the metro are combining resources when it comes to fighting fires. 

Both OKCFD and Edmond Fire said the Automatic Aid Agreement will be helpful for all residents. 

“What we strive to do is get folks to you as fast as we can, seconds matter,” said Chris Denton, the Deputy Fire Chief and Public Information Officer for the Edmond Fire Department. 

He said this agreement will allow them to get to the scene of an emergency quicker. 

“Especially in the outer areas, all it takes is for one station to be out of pocket on a medical call or a grass fire or another call to be able to delay that response a little bit more. If we have another department that is in close proximity, why wouldn’t we want to get you help as fast as we can,” said the Deputy Fire Chief. 

Denton said the agreement puts in writing who responds to structure fires outside of Edmond and Oklahoma City limits. 

“It’s been a great thing they have been first in on our structure fires, and we have been first in on theirs. That just proves the point right there that the need was there, and we both stepped up to the plate to get help as fast as we can,” he said. 

“It says ‘let’s automatically agree on those structure fires that come in that OKCFD will automatically send an engine West of I-35 and East of I-35 you will send an engine and a tanker and then we will do the reciprocate. We will send that to them on those two areas,” he said. 

New equipment at OKCFD Dispatch allows them to communicate with each other. 

“Each one of my firefighters, each one of their radios that they carry today right now they are able to communicate with Oklahoma City,” Denton said.    

He added that regardless of the department, they serve all Oklahomans. 

“Just because our trucks say ‘Edmond’ doesn’t really matter. This says, ‘fire and rescue’ this is who we are, we want to help people,” he said. 

The agreement took six months to complete.