(A) There was created and established a Fire Department consisting of one Fire Chief, one Clerk, and such other officers, assistant chiefs, and members of said Fire Department as may from time to time be provided for by the President and Board of Trustees of the village.
(B) The members of the Fire Department shall hold monthly meetings on the first Monday of each month, and shall, on the first Monday of each October, elect one Fire Chief, one Clerk and such other officers and assistant chiefs as may have heretofore been provided for by the President and Board of Trustees, and each such officer so elected shall hold office for one year, subject to reelection, and until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified.
(C) The Fire Chief shall, upon taking office, and not later than the regular meeting held on the first Monday of November of each year, appoint such engine-workers, ladder-workers, hose-workers, nozzle-workers and hydrant-workers, and make such other appointments and prescribe such duties as may be necessary and proper in the organization and effective operation of the Fire Department during the ensuing year. The Fire Chief shall have the control and supervision, subject however, to the order and direction of the President and Board of Trustees, of the Fire Department and all fire apparatus and equipment belonging to said village. In case of fire, the Fire Chief and his or her assistants in their order of rank, shall take command of such fire, and the officer highest in rank shall take command of the Fire Department and direct the management thereof for the suppression of the fire and in the best manner possible. When it may be necessary for the protection of other property to prevent the spread of any fire, the officer in command may cause buildings to be removed, torn down, or destroyed in the best manner possible.
(D) The Clerk of the Fire Department shall keep a record of all meetings of the Fire Department and the attendance of the members thereof, the record of all fires and the attendance of the members at such fires, and during the last week of April of each year, file with the Village Clerk a full report of such attendance and fires, which said report shall be made by the Clerk under oath. The Clerk shall also keep such other record, make such reports, and keep and furnish statistics as may be required of him or her by law. He or she shall, at the expiration of his or her term of office, surrender and deliver to his or her successor in office, all books and records in his or her hands as such clerk.
(E) It shall be the function and duty of the Fire Department, and every member thereof, to extinguish accidental or destructive fires, to prevent the occurrence or spread of fires, and to enforce all ordinances relating to the occurrence or spread of such fires.
(F) (1) The headquarters of said Department shall be a the regular meeting place of the Board of Trustees, or such other place as said President and Board of Trustees may determine by appropriate resolution.
(2) The Fire Department are to enact bylaws to regulate the conduct of its business and activities.
(G) The Fire Chief is hereby vested with authority to suspend any firefighter for insubordination or for neglect of duty. All such suspensions shall be reported to the Board of Trustees at its next meeting by the said Fire Chief, said Trustees shall thereupon discharge or reinstate said firefighter as to them may seem best. Resignations of the Fire Chief or of the firefighter must be made in writing and presented to the Board of Trustees for its action thereon.
(H) The Fire Chief and firefighter shall receive such compensation as may be from time to time fixed by the President and Board of Trustees.
(I) No person shall be disqualified to act as Fire Chief, or as a firefighter, by reason of being a Trustee or other officer of said village.
(J) It shall be the duty of all officers of the law having jurisdiction in said village to enforce the provisions of this section and to arrest on view any person who shall be found violating any of the provisions of this section, or who shall hinder, resist, or refuse to obey any officer of the Fire Department in a discharge of his or her duty.
(Ord. 190, passed 9-6-1950; Ord. 196, passed 1-3-1951; Ord. 1073, passed 12-62018) Penalty, see § 32.99