The Holmen Area Fire District is working to expand its mutual aid agreements. However, the Holmen Area Fire District Association Board agreed to set a limit as to how far the department would travel to assist other fire departments that are part of the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS). At its Jan. 19 meeting, the board voted to set the response distance of a 50-mile radius within the state when the department receives a call for assistance through MABAS in the event of a major incident. MABAS is a voluntary statewide mutual aid system through which fire departments will deploy equipment and personnel to assist other departments when requested. Departments are required to agree to the level of assistance in equipment and staffing they would provide if MABAS is called for by another department.