(A) The Chief shall have general supervision of the Department, subject to this section and the policies of the Department, and shall be responsible for the operation and general efficiency of the Department.
(B) It shall be the duty of the Chief to preside at all meetings of the Fire Department, to call special meetings, to preserve order, to decide all points of order that may arise, and to enforce observance of this section and the constitution and bylaws of the Fire Department.
(C) It shall be the duty of the Chief to maintain the chain of command and enforce the Incident Command System adopted by the county’s Firefighters Association at all incidents to which the Fire Department is dispatched, as follows.
(1) The ranking officer of the first truck to arrive at the scene of an incident shall assume command of the incident, and shall relinquish such command to the next higher officer subsequently arriving at the scene.
(2) The officer in charge of any incident shall be known as the Incident Commander (IC).
(3) The Incident Commander shall assume complete command of, and entire responsibility for, all incident operations, shall plan the control of the same, shall direct the action of the companies when they arrive on the scene, shall assure that every company performs its duty, shall grant leaves of absence at the incident if deemed appropriate, and shall assure that firefighting apparatus is located at reasonably safe positions.
(4) The Incident Commander shall maintain on the scene a record of all operations and task assignments and shall be responsible for an accurate account of all necessary information required by all state’s fire incident reports of the Fire Marshal Division of the State Police.
(D) The Chief shall have the authority to demote, expel, or otherwise discipline any officer or member of the Fire Department for neglect, insubordination, failure, refusal, or inability to perform Departmental duties, failure to attend meetings or training sessions, loss of certification or other conduct detrimental to the Department, with such demotion, expulsion, or other disciplinary action to be subject to appeal to the City Manager.
(E) No later than August 1 of each year, the Chief shall file with the City Manager a detailed estimate of the appropriations needed for the conduct of the Department during the ensuing year.
(F) It shall be the duty of the Chief to submit a written report to the City Manager not later than February 1 of each year, and at such other times as the Chief deems appropriate, relating to the condition of the various pieces of apparatus and equipment, the number of incidents occurring since the previous report, the date of such incidents and the loss occasioned thereby, the numbers of members of each company of the Fire Department, the total number of active members of the Fire Department, and any resignations or expulsions from the Department since the preceding report. The Chief shall also report upon the drill and training programs of the Department, together with other pertinent information, including recommendations for such improvements as deemed proper and necessary for the operation of the Fire Department.
(G) The Chief shall be responsible for the enforcement of all fire prevention ordinances of the city, and state laws and regulations pertaining to fire prevention, and shall keep citizens informed of fire prevention practices and the activities of the Fire Department.
(H) The Chief shall keep a record of every incident to which any company was called and shall enter in such report the locality of the incident, the date, the time, and all pertinent information required by the state’s Fire Incident Reporting System.
(I) The Chief shall keep an inventory of all apparatus and equipment and an inventory of all hoses showing dates and results of tests on each length, which shall be individually identified.
(J) The Chief shall perform such other duties as are incumbent on the Commanding Officer of the Fire Department.
(K) The Chief shall have control of all apparatus and equipment used by the Department and shall be responsible for its proper maintenance. The Chief may authorize members of the Fire Department to carry out any type of maintenance for apparatus, equipment, or structures that may be deemed necessary for the effective operation of the Fire Department or to maintain firefighter or community safety consistent with the approved budget of the Fire Department. Emergency repair to apparatus or equipment which does not exceed $5,000 may be authorized by the Fire Chief without first securing the prior approval of the City Manager, provided that such amounts are available within the approved budget of the Fire Department.
(L) The Chief shall be responsible for assuring that no firefighting equipment or apparatus shall be used for any purpose except for incident control and abatement, or in training therefor, except pursuant to an agreement approved by the City Manager upon recommendation of the Fire Chief. With approval of the Chief, such equipment and apparatus may be used for purposes other than incident control within the city limits, provided that a report of all such uses shall be made annually to Council.
(Prior Code, § 250.03)