During last week’s meeting of the Petal Board of Aldermen, board members voted to renew the city’s participation in the Statewide Mutual Aid Compact, allowing the city to request and receive help from other municipalities and counties in the case of natural disaster.
The SMAC, which was instituted in 1995 by the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, addresses liability, compensation, direction and control when governmental bodies aid each other in emergency situations when local resources are exhausted.
“So when a tornado happens, or if there was a hurricane or something like that where several different entities were affected, we could go into each others’ jurisdictions and help each other,” Petal Mayor Hal Marx said. “Usually, our dollars can only be spent in Petal, but during a situation like that, we could send some of our employees and equipment to help in the county or in Hattiesburg, for instance.
“So it’s just a way for all of us to cooperate together in the event of an emergency.”
Under terms of the compact, officials from participating governments can request emergency-related mutual aid assistance in two ways – by proclaiming a local emergency and transmitting a copy of that proclamation to the assisting party or MEMA, or by orally communicating a request for assistance to the assisting party or MEMA. The compact also helps participating entities with legal issues pertaining to assistance.
“There are so many laws about procuring supplies and equipment and where you can spend your money,” Marx said. “This just allows us, during an emergency, to go ahead and have permission and approval to go where we need to go, and for other people to help us when we need help.”
For Petal, the most recent use of the SMAC came after last year’s tornado that touched down near West Central Avenue.
“During the tornado, we had people come in to Petal to help us,” Marx said. “And there’s been flooding situations over in western Mississippi – I think it was last year – when we sent one of our fire department rescue crews to help.
“We’ve sent people to other parts of the state in the past when they’ve had a tornado or something, where we’ve sent a couple of firemen to help in those efforts.”
Hattiesburg and Forrest County also participate in the SMAC.
“Participating in the statewide mutual aid agreement is essential to our response during a disaster,” Hattiesburg Mayor Toby Barker said. “We know all too well what a disaster in our community looks like.
“Agreements like this are a way for us to be proactive should we need to lean on partnering agencies at the county and statewide level.”
