(A) The Chief of the Town Volunteer Fire Department shall be appointed by the Mayor, who shall be furnished the Department’s records for attendance, drills, meetings, and fires, and shall give due consideration to such records in the appointing of Fire Chiefs. The Fire Chief shall be technically qualified through training and experience, and shall have the ability to supervise personnel.
(Prior Code, § 4-2-4)
(B) The powers, duties, and responsibilities of the Chief of the Town Volunteer Fire Department are as follows:
(1) Be accountable to the Mayor for the personnel, morale, and general efficiency of the Department;
(2) Direct the operation, organization, and discipline of the Department, subject to the rules and regulations thereof;
(3) Devise and formulate, or cause to be devised and formulated, a course or plan of instruction or training program, making available to each regular member of his or her department not less than 30 hours of instruction per year in matters pertaining to fire fighting, and he or she must supervise the operation of such plan or program. The Fire Chief may request the assistance of the state Fire Services Training School for said instruction;
(4) Have charge of, and be responsible for, the engines and fire apparatus, and other property, of the town furnished the department, and see that they are, at all times, ready for use in extinguishing fires;
(5) Be in command at the suppression of a fire, and have the necessary powers, and perform the necessary duties, to ensure the safety of firefighters, safety of other persons, and the protection of property;
(6) Inspect buildings in the process of erection and otherwise, and any premises, and serve written notice upon the owner or occupant to abate, within a specified time, any and all fire hazards that may be found;
(7) Investigate the cause, origin, and circumstances of each fire in the town, and if found necessary, assist the proper authorities in suppressing the crime of arson and prosecution therefor;
(8) Keep complete records of all fires, inspections, apparatus and equipment, personnel, and other information concerning operations of the Department. He or she shall furnish the Mayor with such information as may be requested, and his or her records shall be open for inspection as a public record;
(9) Appoint and remove, at such time and in such manner as he or she deems necessary, all volunteer firefighters. Any such appointment, removal, time, or manner shall have the express consent of the Mayor; and
(10) Enforce, or cause to be enforced, all ordinances, laws, and regulations of the town and state, insofar as they pertain to fire and safety, and perform such other and further duties as may be required by the Mayor and other authorities.
(Prior Code, § 4-2-5)