Rhode Island General Laws 39-21.1-13. Provision of emergency services across jurisdictional boundaries – Joint power or other agreements
(a) A public safety agency that receives a request for emergency service outside its jurisdictional or operational boundaries shall promptly forward the request, utilizing the transfer or relay method, to the public safety answering point or public safety agency responsible for that geographical area.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 39-21.1-13
- Public safety agency: means a functional division of a public agency that provides firefighting, law enforcement, ambulance, medical, or other emergency services. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-21.1-3
- Relay method: means the method of responding to a telephone request for emergency service whereby a public safety answering point notes pertinent information and relays it by telephone to the appropriate public safety agency or other provider of emergency services for dispatch of an emergency service unit. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-21.1-3
(b) Once a public safety answering point or public safety agency dispatches an emergency unit, the unit shall render its services to the requesting party without regard to the unit’s normal jurisdictional boundaries, until it is properly relieved by the public safety agency responsible for that geographical area.
(c) Public agencies within a single system, and public agencies in different systems but which share common boundary lines, are authorized to enter into joint power agreements or other written cooperative agreements to implement these requirements. These agreements may further provide for a public safety agency to render aid outside its normal jurisdictional boundaries on a regular basis.
History of Section.
P.L. 1986, ch. 152, § 1.