When the METROFIRE 10 alarm running card assignment is exhausted, the local fire incident commander shall be notified by the Control Center. If the Commander anticipates the need for additional companies, he shall order the request of Task Forces in accordance with the statewide plan through the Control Center. A staging area will be designated. Note that statewide task forces cannot be utilized for covering assignments - that remains the responsibility of METROFIRE communities. Special calls can be made for forestry and disaster task forces.

METROFIRE is divided into geographic areas; northern, southern and western. The Control Center shall request the necessary task force(s) according to the running card for the requesting area as follows:

STATEWIDE TASK FORCES - OUTGOING AID

Task forces will be dispatched upon receipt of a request from any other district control center. Calls for assistance would generally come from Centers Beverly, Chelmsford, Haverhill, Natick, Plymouth or Randolph, although disaster task forces could be special called from anywhere in the state. Upon receipt of a request, the METROFIRE control center dispatcher shall choose an assembly point for the task force and so notify each assigned community. The task force commander shall be notified of the staging area specified by the fire incident commander. The task force shall travel in convoy to that staging area to receive orders.

If the primary commander or any primary company is not available to respond, then the control center will dispatch alternate replacements.

The METROFIRE district has four (4) structural, one (1) forestry and four (4) disaster task forces available to be assembled. As a general rule no more than one with a maximum of two task forces will be sent out of the district at any given time.