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The Fire Chief and Rescue Captain shall recommend to the City Council or Joint Powers Board a set of Department regulations for operation and administration of the Fire and Rescue Department for consideration and approval by the City Council or Joint Powers Board. The Department regulations detail the organization and administration of the Fire and Rescue Department and establish procedures for efficiently and effectively handling operations while maintaining sufficient flexibility to allow for deviation from the procedures when necessary. Notwithstanding the requirements set forth previously and hereinafter in this subchapter, the Fire Department regulations shall include, but not be limited to, rules of conduct, health and fitness requirements, fire and rescue call and training participation requirements, discipline, job descriptions, and position appointments.
(Ord. passed 5-10-2011; Ord. passed 9-14-2021)
(A) An emergency scene is under the authority of the first arriving emergency personnel, which includes emergency medical services personnel/first responders, until the arrival of the fire or law enforcement officials having jurisdiction.
(B) The Fire Chief and Rescue Captain, or any Fire and Rescue officer or personnel in charge at the scene of a fire or other emergency involving the protection of life or property, shall have the authority to direct such operation as may be necessary to limit or mitigate the threat of injury to persons or damage to property or the environment, extinguish or control any fire, perform any rescue operation, investigate the existence of suspected or reported fires, gas leaks, or other hazardous conditions or situations or of taking any other action necessary in the reasonable performance of duty. In exercise of such power, the Fire Chief and Rescue Captain or any other Fire and Rescue officer or personnel is authorized to prohibit any person, vehicle, vessel, aircraft, or thing from approaching the scene and is authorized to remove or cause to be removed, towed, or kept away from the scene any person, vehicle, vessel, aircraft, or thing which may impede or interfere with the operations of the Fire and Rescue Department.
(C) The Fire Chief and Rescue Captain, or any fire and rescue officer or personnel in charge at the scene of an emergency, is authorized to place ropes, guards, barricades, or other obstructions across any street, highway, alley, place, or private property in the vicinity of such operation so as to prevent accidents or interference with the lawful efforts of the Fire and Rescue Department to manage and/or control the situation.
(Ord. passed 5-10-2011; Ord. passed 9-14-2021) Penalty, see § 32.999
Unless otherwise directed, the Fire Chief and Rescue Captain shall investigate or cause to be investigated the cause, origin, and circumstances of fires occurring within the city or area served by the joint powers agreement pursuant to M.S. Chapter 299F, as it may be amended from time to time.
(Ord. passed 5-10-2011; Ord. passed 9-14-2021)
The Fire Chief and Rescue Captain, or his or her designee, is authorized to respond to requests for mutual aid assistance in the form of Fire and Rescue Department resources from any political subdivision, agencies of the state and federal agencies pursuant to M.S. Chapter 12, as it may be amended from time to time, provided the emergency response needs of the city or the area covered by any existing joint powers agreement are not compromised and the City Council or Joint Powers Board or its designee is notified when Fire and Rescue Department personnel and/or resources shall be committed to the mutual aid response in excess of 12 hours.
(Ord. passed 5-10-2011; Ord. passed 9-14-2021)
(A) There is a City Firefighters’ Relief Association, whose function is to manage service pension benefits for Fire personnel, authorized under Minnesota Statutes and to provide other services to Fire personnel of the Department as deemed appropriate by members of the Association.
(B) The affairs of the Relief Association are governed by its bylaws. The bylaws provide rules for matters such as membership, meetings, elections, and duties of officers and trustees, investments, eligibility for benefits, and benefit amounts.
(C) Any proposed change to the Association’s bylaws or Articles of Incorporation which will affect the benefits paid from the Association’s funds shall not be effective until ratified by the City Council or Joint Powers Board.
(Ord. passed 5-10-2011; Ord. passed 9-14-2021)
For the purpose of this subchapter, the following definitions apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
MOTOR VEHICLE. Any self-propelled vehicle designed and manufactured to operate primarily upon public roads and highways, including semi-trailers.
SERVICE. Any deployment of fire and rescue personnel and/or equipment to extinguish a fire or perform any preventative measure in an effort to protect equipment, life, or property in an area of/or threatened by fire. It also includes the deployment of fire and rescue personnel and/or equipment to provide fire suppression, rescue, extrication, and any other SERVICES related to fire and rescue as may occur.
SERVICE FEE. The charge imposed by the city for receiving fire and rescue service.
(Ord. passed 5-10-2011; Ord. passed 9-14-2021)
(A) As allowed by applicable law, the City Council and/or any effective Joint Powers Board may by resolution establish fees for fire protection service and/or emergency response which are not otherwise specified by contract. Said fees may be established at a fixed rate for certain specific types of incidents or for actual costs incurred by the Fire and Rescue Department in responding to a call for service.
(B) The Fire Chief and Rescue Captain shall make a recommendation annually to the City Council for approval, the fee to be charged for each service fee noted in this section, and such fees shall be specified in the city’s fee schedule.
(1) Chemical/hazardous materials spills. Fees incurred by the city for response to chemical spills on roadways and at fixed private facilities within the city or in other cities that personnel and equipment from the city may be requested to respond, will be charged to the owner of the chemical, the owner of the vehicle in which the chemical is being shipped, and/or to the owner of the facility where the spill occurred.
(a) Fees shall include, but shall not be limited to, actual costs for all personnel who respond to the incident for a minimum of one hour and the cost on a per hour basis for each piece of city or joint powers agreement member apparatus and equipment that responds to the incident for a minimum of one hour. Vehicle and equipment costs shall conform to the most recent cost schedules published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for disaster recovery or in the event a piece of equipment is not listed on the schedule, it shall be billed at a reasonable rate to be determined by the city or Joint Powers Board using industry standards. Fees may also include actual costs for personnel and equipment necessary to respond to fire alarms and false fire and emergency service calls.
(b) In addition, the bill for service shall include any cost of clean-up of any contaminated equipment and/or repair of any equipment damaged during the incident or its replacement along with replacement of any disposable equipment, supplies, and/or communication equipment and administrative costs to be established at 10% of the total bill.
(c) Each owner of the premises receiving Fire and Rescue Department service for a hazardous materials spill shall be deemed to have agreed to pay for said services and any delinquencies in the payment for the Fire and Rescue Department service to said premises shall be a lien and charged against the premises so served, regardless of whether the same be a homestead or not.
(2) Wildland fires. At the discretion of the Fire Chief and Rescue Captain, fees may be charged to the State Department of Natural Resources for services provided for incidents under the jurisdiction of the State Department of Natural Resources.
(3) Arson accidents due to gross negligence. Fees for services provided for incidents caused by arson or by gross negligence will be charged to the perpetrator(s) of the incident.
(4) Motor vehicle accidents. Any party who receives fire service involving a motor vehicle accident or motor vehicle fire will pay for such fire service according to the schedule referenced in division (B) above. Fire and rescue calls resulting from vehicular accidents on state and county highways to the extent services are provided to non-resident individuals or businesses of the City Fire and Rescue Department’s area of service will be charged to the non-resident individual or business.
(5) Impounding vehicles/property. The Fire Chief and Rescue Captain, or their designate, is authorized to impound vehicles or property related to a fire and/or hazardous materials release and to be held in a secure location until such time as payment is received for Fire and Rescue Department response to the incident and/or the vehicle or property may be transported without further risk of injury to the public or damage to the environment.
(Ord. passed 5-10-2011; Ord. passed 9-14-2021)
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