(A) Duties of the Chief.
(1) The Chief shall designate the members of the Fire Department as laddermen and nozzlemen in such numbers as he or she may determine.
(2) The Chief shall prescribe fire alarm signals for use by the Fire Department and shall have the fire alarm tested at a regular time each day.
(3) It shall be the duty of the Chief to see that all the hose is thoroughly washed and dried after use at fires and drills, that no wet or dirty hose is placed on the apparatus, and that all apparatus and equipment is properly cleaned and in place.
(4) The Chief shall see that the position of all hose on apparatus is changed every 90 days, is not otherwise used, and that water is run through it every 90 days. The Chief shall see that all new hose is tested and passes the Underwriters specifications for hydrostatic pressure and that all hose is tested semi-annually at a hydrostatic pressure of 200 pounds.
(5) The Chief shall investigate and make every effort to determine the cause of each fire and shall preserve all evidence of incendiaries.
(6) The Chief shall direct a quarterly inspection of all hydrants and fire cisterns and approaches to natural water supplies, and during winter months, shall see that they are kept free from snow and ice. The Chief need not be made responsible for the condition and inspection of fire hydrants where this is an accepted duty of the Water Department.
(B) Duties of the Assistant Chief.
(1) The Assistant Chief shall report to the Chief at fires and assist the Chief in the discharge of his or her duties. In the absence of the Chief, the First Assistant Chief, and if both are absent, the Second Assistant Chief shall officiate in the capacity of Chief.
(2) The First Assistant Chief, and in his or her absence, the Second Assistant Chief, shall preside at all meetings in the absence of the Chief and shall appoint all committees called for at a meeting at which he or she may preside.
(3) Should the Chief and both Assistant Chiefs be absent from a fire, the person having charge of the apparatus first arriving at the fire shall assume the duties of the Chief until the arrival of a superior officer.
(C) Duties of the Secretary/Treasurer.
(1) It shall be the duty of the Secretary/Treasurer to keep the minutes of all meetings, handle all Fire Department correspondence, keep a register of all the names of all the members of the Fire Department, issue all notices, collect fines, assessments and other moneys due to the Fire Department, and deposit and the same in such bank as the Chief may designate in the name of the Fire Department. He or she shall, if possible, give each member at least two full days’ notice of any special meeting. He or she shall notify each person appointed a member of the Fire Department of such appointment, and shall furnish him or her with a copy of the bylaws.
(2) The Secretary/Treasurer shall keep a written account of all moneys received and expended by the Fire Department. He or she shall issue orders to pay out the Fire Department funds in his or her custody only such accounts as the Fire Department has properly authorized paid and only on warrants properly drawn and signed by the Chief. He or she shall submit to the meeting a monthly and annual statements of the amounts on hand or due.
(D) Duties of nozzlemen.
(1) The duties of the nozzlemen shall include the handling of small extinguishers and water and chemical lines to extinguish fires with a minimum amount of water damage.
(2) At fires in buildings, hose lines shall be advanced into the building with the nozzles shut off and not opened until fire is seen. After the main body of the fire is extinguished, the nozzle shall be shut off and the remainder cleaned up with a small hose or a small tip on the shut-off nozzle.
(3) In laying a line from a hydrant to a fire, nozzlemen shall drop off with the butt end of the hose and wrench, connect to the hydrant, and stand by for the signal for water.
(4) In laying a line from the fire to a hydrant or cistern, nozzlemen shall drop off at the fire with the nozzle and ample hose to reach the fire and the laddermen’s tools shall be unloaded. The engine shall then be driven to the hydrant and the hose connected.
(E) Duties of laddermen.
(1) The general duties of laddermen at fires are to ascertain that all occupants of a burning building are out, to make rescues, raise ladders, and open up and ventilate burning buildings so that nozzlemen may quickly bring their streams on the fire. Laddermen carrying axes and plaster hooks should accompany nozzlemen working inside buildings to open partitions or ceilings.
(2) Laddermen may be responsible for salvage operations to reduce water damage. They may promptly spread salvage covers where they will be most effective, usually below the fire. They may quickly assemble the contents of the rooms being covered so as to cover as much property as possible with one cover. After the fire, water and debris may be removed, holes in the roof covered, if possible, and salvage covers may be cleaned and dried.
(3) Laddermen shall quickly remove axes, plaster hooks, and necessary ladders from the apparatus, carry them to the building, and use them as directed.
(F) Duties of members. It shall be the duty of the members of the Fire Department, as often as any fire shall break out, to proceed immediately upon the alarm thereof to the position of the fire. The members shall report to the fire station and convey their apparatus to the fire, unless otherwise directed by the Chief or other officers who may be in charge. When so directed, they shall return their apparatus, well washed and cleaned, to the fire station.
(1999 Code, § 32.20)