(A) A firefighter is a person duly qualified, appointed, and sworn to protect life and property from damage and destruction by fire and natural calamity. His general duties are to protect life and property, prevent and fight fires, and assist in other calamitous situations. A firefighter is on call to serve when needed or ordered to do so, whether on an active shift or not.
(B) A firefighter shall:
(1) Hold himself in readiness at all times to perform the duties of his office.
(2) Implicitly obey and respect his superiors in all matters pertaining to fire business. The members of the Fire Department are expected to obey and shall take orders from all superior officers.
(3) Be courteous to and considerate of his associates, guarding himself against envy, jealousy, or other unfriendly feeling and refraining from all communications to their discredit except to his superior officers, to whom it is his duty to inform of any neglect or disobedience of orders on their part that may come to his knowledge.
(4) Conform to the rules and regulations of the Fire Department, observe state laws and city ordinances, assist in necessary traffic matters, and render his services to the city with zeal, courage, discretion, and fidelity.
(5) Be present at roll call and attend at the station house at the time appointed. If he is absent without leave, he shall be reported to the Fire Chief. He shall immediately after roll call and leaving the squad proceed to his duties of the day and relieve the firefighters whose tour of duty has expired. The firefighter going off duty shall communicate to his relieving associate everything he knows relating to fire business on their shift so that they both may act in concert for the public good.
(6) Not enter any house, office, or enclosure of any kind except in the line of duty, and when so doing he shall satisfy his superior officer with sufficient cause for the apparent dereliction.
(7) Direct strangers and others, when requested, the nearest and safest way to their place of destination.
(8) Be held responsible for the performance of his duties. Any continued failure to carry them out is a ground for attributing negligence to him, and it shall be the duty of the commanding officer to prefer charges unless he shall be able to prove that the state of affairs has arisen from causes beyond the firefighter's control.
(9) Exert every effort within his power to curb fires and carry out plans for fire prevention. He shall be vigilant in preventing fire and waste of water.
(10) Before leaving a fire, ask for and receive the permission of his supervisor. All fire reports, to the extent possible, shall be completed on the scene of the fire before leaving.
(11) Be diligent, courteous, and active in the performance of his duties, neither neglecting friendliness nor wasting time in unnecessary conversation. In dealing with the public, he shall be kind and courteous, but firm and decided. A member, when on duty, shall assume a military bearing and avoid careless loungings or undignified attitude.
(12) Acquire, as quickly as possible, a thorough knowledge of the streets and hydrant locations so as to enable him to recognize and find them. It is absolutely necessary that he become thoroughly conversant with the streets, houses, and hydrant locations throughout the city.
(13) Not refuse to give assistance for the protection of persons and property. He shall, if he hears the cry of "help" or other call for assistance from anyone, promptly proceed to render aid with all possible dispatch. Whenever he finds any person in distress or any person is so reported, he shall take those measures as are urgently required and at once report to the officer in charge at the police station, giving the name and address of the person or persons in distress. The commanding officer in receipt of this report shall forward the same to the Chief of Police, giving the name of the person, number of children (if any), place of residence, name of the reporting person, number of district, and beat. The Chief of Police shall forward the report to the Department of Public Welfare.
(14) Pay particular attention to all accidents coming under his observation, using every means in his power (regardless of time and cost) to relieve any persons that may be injured and strictly following the rules prescribed in the manual.
(15) Furnish that information and render that aid to all persons when requested as is consistent with his duty.
(16) Take note of all cases of contagious disease or sudden death where there is reasonable ground to suspect criminality and render immediate aid in case of accident or illness in the streets, ascertaining the important particulars connected therewith and promptly making report thereof.
(17) Appear in court promptly at the hour specified and when called upon to testify in any case, give his testimony in a quiet, unassuming manner, but in a tone of voice sufficiently loud to be plainly heard by the court or jury. He shall be explicit, but as concise as possible, confining himself strictly and solely to the facts in the case and avoiding any exaggeration.
(18) Report for gymnasium, parades, target practice, school of instruction, inspection, mental and physical examination, and other exercises and meetings as may be ordered by the Fire Chief. Excuses from drill, parade, target practice, gymnasium exercise, school of instruction, inspection, or any mental or manual examination must be filed with the Fire Chief on or before the first day of each month for any absence during the previous month. If any absence is due to disability caused by sickness or injury, the excuse must be signed by a physician. If an absence is for any other cause, the excuse must be made out on the regular form for that purpose and give in detail the exact cause of the absence. If the absence is due to attending court, the name of the prisoner and the charge against him must be given.
(C) The following incidents should, as a matter of routine, be investigated and a written report prepared and delivered to the City Manager immediately:
(1) If an accident occurs involving a firefighter.
(2) If any firefighter or other party is injured during the performance of a firefighter's duties.
(Ord. 310.1A, passed 11-6-81)