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(A) Authority to order remedial action. Whenever any officer or member of the Department shall find in any building, or upon any premises or other place, combustible or explosive matter or any dangerous accumulation of rubbish or unnecessary accumulation of wastepaper, boxes, shavings, or any other highly flammable materials especially liable to fire, and which is so situated as to endanger property, or shall find any obstruction to or on any fire escape, stair, passageway, door, or window, liable to interfere with the operations of the Department, or egress of occupants, in case of fire, or shall find any condition dangerous to life or property by reason of the fire hazard thereby created, the member of the Department shall be fully authorized and it is hereby made his or her duty to order any hazardous condition as described to be removed or remedied, and whether or not the member is engaged in any routine fire inspection shall not affect the validity of the order.
(B) Compliance with order required. The order shall be complied with by the owner or occupant of the premises or building, subject to appeal within 24 hours to the Mayor, who shall, within ten days, review the order and file his or her decision thereon, and unless the order is revoked or modified, it shall remain in full force and be obeyed by the owner or occupant, and any owner or occupant failing to comply with any such order within ten days after the appeal shall have been determined, or if no appeal is taken, then, within ten days after the service of the order, shall be liable to penalty under the terms of this chapter.
(C) Responsibility for abatement. In those instances in which the owner and occupant of a building, or of any premises, is not one and the same person, the occupant of such building or premises shall first be held responsible for the abatement of any dangerous conditions as described in this chapter, but in the event of the occupant being unavailable or otherwise immune to process, the owner of the building or premises shall be responsible.
(D) Order discontinuance of use of dangerous device. The Fire Chief shall have full authority to order the immediate discontinuance of the use of any stove, stovepipe, flue, furnace, electric wiring, or other hazardous devices, pending results of an appeal to the Mayor.
(Prior Code, § 6-2-10) Penalty, see § 6-2-20
(A) Authority to order evacuation. For the purpose of protecting persons or property, the Fire Chief or other officer of the Fire Department in charge of extinguishment of any fire shall have authority to order the evacuation and/or abandonment of any building in immediate danger from an imminent spreading of such fire. The members of the Fire Department are to remove the contents of any threatened building whenever the authorized order for action cannot be otherwise carried out, and the officer in charge of extinguishment of any fire shall have complete police authority in the matter of removing persons from any threatened building.
(B) Authority to break into building. For the purpose of investigating the extent of any fire, or the extent of damage or danger and/or the need for evacuation, abandonment, or the action to be taken for the protection of persons or property, the Chief or other officer in charge, and members of the Fire Department working under the orders of the officer, shall have authority to enter any building, private residence, or otherwise, breaking into the building if necessary. No break in or other entry without consent of the owner, proprietor, or occupant of the building shall be ordered or made except in those cases which the owner, proprietor, or occupant is present but refuses to grant consent; and when entry is immediately necessary for the protection of any person or for the protection of any valuable property.
(C) Authority to order demolition. The officer in charge shall have authority to order demolition of any building, fences, or other objects obstructing access to fire hydrants and/or whose existence is liable to further the spread of any dangerous fire, and the town shall not be liable for the loss to the owner of the buildings incurred by reason of such demolition.
(Prior Code, § 6-2-11)
The Chief of the Fire Department shall keep or cause to be kept a complete record of the activities of the Fire Department and shall make a thorough investigation of each fire and report to the Mayor and governing body monthly, giving in detail the following information in regard to each fire, if available: cause, location, time, owner, tenant, occupancy, type of building, insurance carried, insurance paid, building loss, contents loss, how extinguished, apparatus used, firefighters present, adequacy of water supply and pressure, and any other information of value in such a report, or desired by any member of the governing body.
(Prior Code, § 6-2-12)
(A) Entering station or using equipment. No person shall enter or be allowed to enter the fire station unless accompanied by a member of the Department, unless authorized so to enter by a member of the Department or the administrative official. No person not a member of the Department shall use any of the fire apparatus at fires or otherwise unless acting under orders of the officer of the Fire Department in charge of the fire, nor shall any person interfere in any way with the Department or any member of the Department, in the performance of his, her, or its duty.
(B) Responding to fire alarm; parking near fire hydrant.
(1) Upon hearing a fire alarm, all drivers of vehicles shall take due warning and, upon the approach of fire apparatus, shall move promptly to the right curb and stop in order to leave the middle of the street clear for passage of the fire apparatus.
(2) Vehicles shall not follow fire apparatus nearer than one full block and shall not proceed to any point within one full block of the fire.
(3) This division (B) shall not apply to those vehicles driven by members of the Department proceeding to the fire for the purpose of assistance in its extinguishment.
(4) No vehicle shall be parked within 15 feet of any fire hydrant or before the entrance to any theater, hall, or other building in which large assemblages are held, and no vehicles shall be driven over any fire hose or other firefighting apparatus.
(Prior Code, § 6-2-13) Penalty, see § 6-2-20
The Water Department or its equivalent shall cooperate in every way possible with the Fire Department, to provide an adequate supply at pressures suitable for firefighting, and shall supply the fire department one or more accurate maps of the water distributing system, showing the size and location of all mains, valves, and fire hydrants, which shall be posted and maintained in a conspicuous place in the fire station, and shall report promptly regarding the mains, and any other information relative to the water supply to any and all parts of the town, which information shall also be posted for the information of firefighters and other interested residents of the town.
(Prior Code, § 6-2-14)
No person shall knowingly give a false alarm of fire except those for test purposes of the alarm system, given or authorized by the Chief.
(Prior Code, § 6-2-16) (Ord. 2024-01, passed 4-4-2024) Penalty, see § 6-2-20
(A) Compliance required; filing of complaint for noncompliance.
(1) Upon the receipt of an order from the Fire Chief to abate any dangerous condition or fire hazard as described in this chapter, the owner or proprietor of the premises upon which the fire hazard or dangerous condition exists shall comply at once with the order.
(2) If the owner or proprietor has not complied with the order within three days following its issuance, the Fire Chief shall sign and file a complaint with the Municipal Judge of the town, accusing the owner or proprietor of a misdemeanor and setting forth the nature of the offense committed.
(B) Failure to comply. If convicted, the defendant named in the complaint shall be fined as provided in this chapter and shall be ordered by the Municipal Court Judge to comply with the order of the Fire Chief, and thereafter, every day that the offensive condition is continued in existence shall constitute a separate and punishable offense, in addition to which a separate fine for contempt of court may be imposed. The Municipal Judge may permit the defendant a longer time in which to abate the condition if he or she deems leniency necessary.
(Prior Code, § 6-2-17) Penalty, see § 6-2-20
(A) Notify Council of fire hazard. In those instances in which a fire hazard or dangerous condition is found to exist as provided in this chapter and the owner or proprietor of the premises is not to be found within the town, nor otherwise available upon the exertion of reasonable effort upon the part of the Fire Chief, or refuses or fails to remedy the hazard or condition, the Fire Chief shall notify the Council at the next regular meeting of the existence of the fire hazard or dangerous condition and the location thereof and the fact that the proprietor is not available or that the proprietor refuses or has failed to remedy the hazard or condition.
(B) Order abatement by town; assessment of costs. Upon receipt of such notice, the Council is authorized to order the abatement of the condition reported as provided in this chapter. The abatement shall be carried out by the proper officer or officers of the town, members of the Fire Department or otherwise, and the expense of the abatement shall be paid out of the General Funds of the town treasury and shall be included, together with a surcharge equal to 200% of such costs to cover indirect administrative costs, in a bill charged against the owner of the property within or upon which the fire hazard or dangerous condition was found to exist.
(Prior Code, § 6-2-18)
No group of persons may provide fire protection and/or fire suppression on an organized basis unless and until such group has been organized as directed by this chapter, and its operations and procedures specifically approved by the Council.
(Prior Code, § 6-2-19) Penalty, see § 6-2-20
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