(A) Appointment, oath, and bond.
(1) The Fire Chief shall be appointed for a four-year term by the Mayor with the consent of the governing body, and may be removed by the Mayor and governing body for incompetency or neglect of duty at any time during the four-year term. The Fire Chief shall take and subscribe an official oath and shall file the oath with the Clerk-Treasurer, the oath to be the same as the oath taken by other officers of the town, except for additions and/or alterations as may be obviously necessary or desirable to render the oath suitable and adaptable to the intent of such officer and which may be authorized by the governing body.
(2) In addition to the oath of office, the Chief shall execute a bond to the people of the town if such bond is deemed necessary by the governing body, in the amount as directed by the governing body, conditioned upon faithful performance of the duties of his or her office in accordance with law and within the boundaries of this authority, and shall file the bond with the Town Clerk-Treasurer. The expense of the bond is to be paid out of the General Fund of the town treasury, in the same manner as that in which the expense of the bonds for other officers of the town is paid.
(B) Powers and duties. The Chief of the Fire Department shall be responsible for the discipline, good order, and proper conduct of the entire Department, and for the enforcement of all ordinances and regulations pertaining to it. He or she shall be responsible for the proper care of the house, fire apparatus, and all other property of the Department or in its charge. He or she shall have command and control over all officers and members of the Department and all houses, fire apparatus, and other property of the Department or in its charge, and he or she likewise shall have control of all persons present at fires.
(Prior Code, § 6-2-3) (Ord. 2024-01, passed 4-4-2024)