A. Generally: It shall be the responsibility of the chief and the persons belonging to the fire department to keep the department up to the required number of persons and officers. The members shall keep the fire apparatus in good order and ready for use and drill, and on the alarm of fire shall leave all other business and proceed to the fire station or to the place of fire and there operate under the direction of the chief or officers in charge. (1949 Code § 11-0-2)
B. Fire Chief In Charge Of Fires: It shall be the duty of the chief, in all cases, to take and have control of all members of the fire department, and all persons assisting at fires, and he shall take all proper measures for the extinguishment of fires, the protection of property, and for the preservation of order at and in the vicinity of fire, and to secure the observance of all ordinances and regulations respecting fire. (1949 Code § 11-0-5)
C. Police Chief To Assist: It shall be the duty of the chief of police and his aids to keep open a space of two hundred feet (200') upon all sides of the fire and cause the observance of all ordinances. (1949 Code § 11-0-6; amd. 2006 Code)
D. Special Police Powers: Every member of the fire department, while on duty, shall have special police powers. (1949 Code § 11-0-7)
E. Quarterly Reports: It shall be the duty of the chief to report to the city council quarterly, and more often if required, the condition of equipment, fire hydrants, fire apparatus and fire alarms, and recommend such addition to firefighting equipment as he may deem expedient. The department shall at all times be subject to the control and direction of the mayor and city council. (1949 Code § 11-0-8)
F. Chief May Demand Aid: It shall be lawful upon any alarm of fire for the chief or officers in charge to require the aid of any citizen or conveyance, and any person so called upon who shall refuse or neglect to obey the lawful orders of any officer shall be deemed guilty of a class C misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall for every such offense be subject to penalty as provided in section 1-4-1 of this code. (1949 Code § 11-0-9; amd. 2006 Code)
G. Investigation Of Cause Of Fire: The chief of the fire department, or in his absence the person in charge of said department, shall, after any fire is extinguished, make a prompt and thorough investigation of the cause thereof, the amount of loss and insurance, the time of the breaking out of such fire, description of the building and other particulars, and shall enter the same in a record book kept for that purpose in the office of said department. (1949 Code § 11-0-13)
H. Inspection Of Buildings For Fire Hazards: The chief of the fire department, or any member of such department designated by him, shall have the right to enter upon any premises at all reasonable hours for the purpose of inspecting the same, and when such officer shall find in any building, or upon or about any premises, combustible or explosive materials, or dangerous accumulations of rubbish or unnecessary accumulations of wastepaper, boxes, shavings or other inflammable materials, especially liable to fire, and which is so situated as to endanger property, or shall find obstructions to or on fire escapes, stairs, passageways, doors or windows which are likely to interfere with the operations of the fire department, or the egress of occupants in case of fire, such officer shall order the immediate removal of all such combustible or explosive materials, and of all such obstructions, and it shall be the duty of the owner, lessee, manager or occupant of any such buildings or premises to immediately comply with such direction. (1949 Code § 11-0-14)