(a) The office of Fire Chief is hereby established. The Fire Chief shall be the chief of the Fire Department and the commanding officer thereof, and shall be responsible to the Mayor and City Council for the administration, training, discipline, morale and effective deployment and utilization of the members of the department and for the maintenance and effective deployment and utilization of the property, equipment and apparatus of the Fire Department.
(b) The Fire Chief shall serve at the will and pleasure of the Mayor and Council and shall hold office so long as his conduct and the efficiency of the department are satisfactory to the Mayor and Council.
(c) The Fire Chief shall have all such powers as may be necessary and lawful to meet the responsibilities imposed upon him by this section, including but not limited to the following:
(1) He shall have absolute command, control, management, assignment to duties and supervision of every officer, member and employee of the Fire Department during a fire and at all practices and drills, and during all hours when such personnel are on duty.
(2) He shall have absolute control, authority and command of the police officers present at the scene of any fire during the time and continuance of any fire or conflagration, and all orders issued by him to such police officers, and to other persons present, shall be by them explicitly obeyed and performed.
(3) He shall have supervision over the engine houses, trucks and all apparatus and equipment belonging to the Fire Department. He shall be responsible for the serviceable condition of all equipment belonging to the Fire Department, and he shall be responsible that every piece of fire apparatus is equipped at all times with the necessary wrenches and all other equipment belonging to that piece of apparatus and necessary in the successful fighting of fire.
(4) He shall have supervision over all repairs to apparatus and the charge of all supplies, and shall issue them upon his own discretion or upon the authority of the City Council to the units of the Fire Department, taking from them the receipt of the commander of the unit to which the supplies are issued. He shall have sole control, management and command at fires and alarms of fire over all apparatus and equipment belonging to the Fire Department. Whenever any purchases are to be made, or the fire apparatus used by the department requires attention or repairs, he shall make a report and recommendations to the City Council unless the repairs needed are of such character that will require immediate attention.
(5) He shall report every fire and non-fire incident to the State Fire Marshal on the forms approved by the State Fire Marshal. Every fire and non-fire incident response shall be reported within thirty (30) days after the date of the incident. Provided, that any fire or explosion involving human fatality, arson or suspected arson shall be reported immediately.
(d) He shall be responsible for the keeping of necessary records for the Fire Department. Such records shall list and note, inter alia, the State of repair of all property belonging to the Fire Department. He shall record and report annually to the City Council a Statement of all fires occurring since the previous report, the units and personnel responding to alarms, the loss and insurance as far as ascertained, the causes of any such fires, together with such suggestions as he may deem advisable to bring the number of fires to a minimum. He shall also keep at his office such books or other records as the City Council may prescribe.
(Ord. 215. Passed 10-19-10.)