(A) Purpose. The object of the city’s Volunteer Fire Department shall be the prevention of fire and for the protection of life and property within the limits of the city. The following regulations are hereby established.
(B) Organization.
(1) The Department shall consist of a Chief, Assistant Chief, Captain, and other officers as the Chief and Council may deem necessary for the effective operation of the Department.
(2) The Chief shall be appointed by the Mayor for an indefinite period of time, and his or her tenure of office shall depend upon his or her good conduct and efficiency. The Chief shall be technically qualified by training and experience and shall have ability to command men and women and hold their respect and confidence. He or she shall be removed only for just cause and after a public hearing before the Common Council.
(3) The Chief shall be held accountable to the Mayor only and shall make written and verbal reports thereto as the Mayor may require. All other Department and Company officers shall be accountable to the Chief only.
(4) The Assistant Chief and Captain and all other Department and Company officers shall be appointed by the Chief. Such officers shall be accountable only to the Chief and subject to removal by him or her.
(C) Duties and responsibilities of the Chief.
(1) The Chief shall formulate a set of rules and regulations to govern the Department, and shall be responsible to the Mayor for the personnel, morale, and general efficiency of the Department.
(2) The Chief shall determine the number and kind of companies of which the Department is to be composed and shall determine the response of such companies to alarms.
(3) The Chief shall, at least once a month, conduct suitable drills or instruction in the operation and handling of equipment, first aid and rescue work, salvage, a study of buildings in the city, fire prevention, water supplies, and all other matters generally considered essential to good lighting and protection of life and property from fire.
(4) The Chief is hereby required to assist the proper authorities in suppressing the crime of arson by investigating or causing to be investigated the cause, origin, and circumstances of all fires.
(5) The Chief is hereby empowered to notify the State Fire Marshal in cases where suspicion of fire hazards exist.
(6) Any person so served with a notice to abate any fire hazards shall comply therewith and promptly notify the Chief.
(7) The Chief shall see that complete records are kept of all fires, inspections, apparatus and minor equipment, personnel, financial, and other information about the work of the Department.
(8) The Chief shall report monthly to the Mayor and Common Council, if requested, and include the condition of the apparatus and equipment; the number of fires during the month, their location and cause, and the date of same and loss occasioned thereby; the number and purpose of all other runs made; and the number of members responding to each fire or other run, and any changes of membership.
(9) The Chief shall make a complete annual report to the Mayor and Common Council within one month after the close of the fiscal year, and such report to include the information specified in division (C)(7) above, together with comparative data from previous years, and recommendations for improving the effectiveness of the Department.
(D) Membership.
(1) Persons eligible for election to membership in the Volunteer Department shall be persons over the age of 18 years and under the age of 55 years old residing and working within a six-mile radius of the city’s fire station, who have passed a physical examination provided at the Department’s expense. Retirement age is 70 years.
(2) Membership is limited to 20 active members, with an additional number of trainees at the discretion of the Fire Chief.
(3) All members must have a physical once a year.
(4) When any person serves 15 or more years active service, becomes physically incapacitated, or retires because of age, he or she shall be retired from active membership in the Department, but shall retain all social privileges of the active membership.
(E) Equipment.
(1) The Department shall be equipped with such apparatus and other equipment as may be required from time to time to maintain its efficiency and properly protect life and property from fire.
(2) Recommendations of apparatus and equipment needed shall be made by the Chief, and after approval by the Common Council, shall be purchased in such manner as may be designated by the Common Council.
(3) All equipment of the Department shall be safely and conveniently housed in such places as may be designated by the Common Council. Such places shall be heated during the winter months.
(4) Suitable arrangement of equipment shall be provided to turn in an alarm and for notifying all members of the Department so that they may promptly respond. Pagers that are issued to firefighters are for official use in notifying members of an emergency and are not to be used for personal purposes. Violation of this will automatically place the violating member on probation and subject to dismissal from the Department.
(5) No person shall use any fire apparatus or equipment for any private purpose, nor shall any person willfully and without proper authority take away or conceal any article used in any way by the Department.
(6) No person shall handle any apparatus or equipment belonging to the Department unless accompanied by, or having the special permission of, an officer or authorized member of the Department.
(7) The Common Council is hereby authorized to enter into agreements or contracts with neighboring townships, nearby communities, cities and towns, or governing bodies or other organizations with or without fire protection or to establish a mutual aid system.
(8) No apparatus shall be hired out or permitted to leave the city limits except in response to a call for aid at a fire in a neighboring community without the consent of the Fire Chief or his or her assistant. The officer in charge of the Department shall have power to assign equipment for responses to calls for outside aid in accordance with division (E)(7) above, and in other cases only when the absence of such equipment will not jeopardize protection in this city.
(F) Regulations.
(1) Each member of the Department shall be issued a badge designating his or her rank.
(2) All motor equipment and all personal cars of Department members shall have right-of-way over all other traffic when responding to an alarm.
(3) Each member of the Department driving a car shall be issued a suitable insignia to be attached to the car.
(4) No person shall drive any vehicle over a fire hose except upon specific orders from the Chief or other officer in charge where the hose is used.
(5) No person shall park any vehicle or otherwise cause any obstruction to be placed within 25 feet to the front of the entrance to any fire station or other place where fire apparatus is stored, or within ten feet of any hydrant.
(6) No unauthorized person with any vehicle shall follow within 600 feet of any apparatus belonging to the Department, nor park any vehicle within 600 feet of a fire.
(7) No person shall maliciously turn in, or cause to be turned in, a false alarm.
(I) Penalties and special powers.
(1) Any person violating any provisions of divisions (C)(6), (E)(5), (E)(6), (F)(2), (F)(5), (F)(6), or (F)(7) shall, upon conviction, pay a fine of not less than $10 or more than $100 for each offense.
(2) All regularly appointed members of the Department are hereby given the necessary special police powers for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this chapter.
(3) It is hereby made the special duty of the Chief of Police and/or other peace officers who may be on duty and available for fire duty, to respond to all fire alarms and assist the Department in the protection of life and property, in regulating traffic, maintaining order, and in enforcing observance of all sections of this chapter.
(G) Social officers, functions, and duties.
(1) The Department may elect a President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer to be known as social officers. Such officers may be elected in any manner and for any term the membership may decide, and his or her duties shall be to arrange for and manage any or all social functions sponsored by the Department.
(2) The functions and duties of said social officers shall in no way interfere with those of the regular Department officers who are charged with responsibility for all fire service activities of the Department.
(3) A current set of bylaws governing the social affairs of the Department shall be maintained and followed by the social officers.
(2003 Code, § 2.16.040) (Ord. 2015-4, passed - -2015)