5-2-3: FIRE CHIEF 1 :
A.   Employment And Dismissal:
1.   Term Of Employment: A person shall be employed by the village as fire chief and shall be the head of the fire department. Such employment shall be by ordinance or resolution of the board of trustees and shall continue until a successor shall be employed.
2.   Authority To Discharge: The village president shall have the right to discharge the fire chief; provided, that the president shall report such discharge to the board of trustees at their next regular meeting. If such discharge is not concurred by a majority of the members present at said meeting, the fire chief shall be reemployed.
B.   Powers And Duties:
1.   Manage Department; Employ And Remove Members: The fire chief shall have the management and control of all matters and things pertaining to said fire department. The fire chief shall employ and remove officers and members of the fire department. Appeals to the termination of any officer or member may be made to the village administrator.
2.   Authority And Control: The fire chief shall have sole and absolute control and command over all persons connected with the fire department of the village while on duty.
3.   Establish Rules And Regulations: The fire chief shall possess full power and authority over the fire department organization, government and discipline, and to that end may prescribe and establish, from time to time, such rules and regulations as deemed advisable, subject to the approval of the village administrator.
4.   Custody Of Equipment: The fire chief shall have the custody of the engines, equipment and property belonging to the fire department.
5.   Investigate Fires; Right Of Entry: The fire chief or other fire department members as designated by the fire chief shall investigate the cause and origin of all fires and other incidents responded to by the fire department, as well. The fire department shall have the right to enter upon the premises where an emergency has occurred to perform such investigation.
6.   Submit Reports: The fire chief shall submit a monthly report to the board of trustees, via the village administrator, listing the number and types of fire department responses, training received by the fire department members, and any unusual occurrences. In addition, an annual report shall be submitted in January of each year to the board of trustees through the village administrator, showing the total annual responses by the fire department by category, description of buildings and property destroyed or damaged, and any other information, statistics or suggestions the fire chief feels the board of trustees should know regarding the response capabilities of the fire department, and the causes and origins of fires responded to by the fire department.
7.   Attend Fires: It shall be the duty of the fire chief, if the chief is able, to attend all fires happening in the village, and in case of the absence of the fire chief from any fire, it shall be the duty of another officer to take charge of the department, and during the absence of the chief, such officer shall have and exercise all the powers of the fire chief.
8.   Examine Dangerous Buildings: The fire chief shall examine all buildings or walls reported dangerous or damaged by fire or accident and shall, whenever necessary, make a report of the condition thereof to the board of trustees.
9.   Prescribe Limits At Emergency Scene: The fire chief, or other officer in command, may prescribe limits in the vicinity of any emergency scene, within which only those given permission by a fire department officer may go, and the police department shall, on request of the fire chief or other officer in command, enforce the provisions of this subsection B9.
10.   Remove Property: The fire chief, or other officer in command, may cause the removal of any property whenever it shall become necessary for the preservation of such property from fire, or to prevent the spreading of fire, or to protect adjoining property. The fire chief may direct the members of the fire department to cut down or remove any building, erection, fence or trees for the purposes of checking the progress of any fire. (1988 Code § 8-1-3)

 

Notes

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1. See also section 1-6G-1 of this code.