The duties of the Chief, subject to supervision by the Board of Aldermen, shall be as follows:
(A) General control of the Department, the personnel, apparatus and fire alarm systems;
(B) To command the Department and supervise the firefighting and extinguishing of all fires and to have the authority to keep away from the vicinity of all fires, any and all idle, disorderly or suspicious persons;
(C) He or she shall inspect or cause to be inspected all trucks and other equipment of the Fire Department each and every week to ascertain that the equipment is being kept in proper condition. He or she shall report annually to the Board of Aldermen the condition of all equipment;
(D) He or she shall inspect or cause to be inspected all fire hydrants and fire alarm systems at least once every three months and shall make a report of the inspection to the Board of Aldermen; and
(E) Fire Inspector: (note: because of state regulations, the Board of Aldermen signed an agreement with the county to handle most of the function of Fire Inspector).
(1) The Chief is to assume the functions of Fire Inspector. As such, he or she or his or her designated agent shall have authority to enter any and all premises, at a reasonable time, for purposes of inspection.
(2) He or she shall make annual inspections of all structures located within the fire limits.
(3) He or she shall, upon receipt of a complaint, forthwith investigate.
(4) He or she shall investigate the causes of fires and shall keep records of his or her findings as to origin, location owner, extent of damage and amount of insurance carried. The findings must be reported to the State Insurance Commissioner at regular intervals.
(5) He or she shall cause the removal of fire hazards by serving proper order to owner or agent of premises in question, the order to state a reasonable time limit. Failure to comply with the order shall be considered a misdemeanor.
(Prior Code, § C-I-2)