FBCESD 7 and Pearland Fire Department Join Forces for Mutual Aid Training

This past weekend Fort Bend County Emergency Services District No. 7 (FBCESD 7) and the Pearland Fire Department joined forces for a mutual aid training exercise. The two departments share a common geographical boundary and train together to better serve their respective communities. The mutual aid training consisted of live fire training, search and rescue patterns and fire command operations.

“Mutual aid training allows our two departments to be familiar with our different apparatus and to understand each department’s procedures. It also enables our firefighters to get to know each other and to be comfortable working together in an emergency situation,” said Anthony Bates with FBCESD 7.

What is Mutual Aid?

In emergency services, mutual aid is an agreement among emergency services providers to lend assistance across jurisdictional boundaries. A mutual aid response usually occurs when an emergency exceeds local resources such as a natural disaster or a multiple alarm fire.

About Pearland Fire Department

The Pearland Fire Department is responsible for fire suppression, emergency medical response, rescue, fire investigation, and inspections within its jurisdiction. The goal of the department is to provide for the safety and health of citizens within the City of Pearland and its Extra Territorial Jurisdiction (ETJ).

The department provides 24-hour service to the citizens of Pearland and responds to more than 10,000 calls for service per year. The Department currently serves an area of over 75 square miles with a population of more than 130,000. Since 2007, PFD has evolved from a volunteer department to a career department, supplemented by part-time employees, staffing five stations 24 hours a day, seven days a week.