(A) Duties of the Fire Chief. The Fire Chief shall be the head of the Township Fire Department and shall be directly responsible to the Township Committee for the Fire Department’s efficiency and day-to-day operations.
(1) The Fire Chief shall at the scene of a fire or rescue call, or otherwise have sole and absolute control of and command at the exclusion of all others in the Fire Department. He shall cause the arrangement of fire engineers and placement of its apparatus at a fire and cause it to be used in such a manner as will protect lives and property and extinguish most quickly and effectively. He shall examine periodically the condition of the fire apparatus, fire houses and all the property belonging to the Fire Department and shall report the same in its condition to Township Committee in December of each year which report shall be accompanied by a statement of the number of fire and rescue calls that have occurred in the preceding year and the number of fires attended by him or in his absence the Deputy Chief and such other information necessary to advise Township Committee of the operation of the Fire Department.
(2) Pursuant to policies established by the Township Committee, the Fire Chief shall:
(a) Have the general supervision of the Fire Department at all times;
(b) Administer and enforce rules and regulations of the Fire Department and any special emergency directors for the disposition and discipline of the Fire Department and its members;
(c) Exercise and discharge the functions, powers and duties of the Fire Department;
(d) Prescribe the duties and assignments of all members and officers;
(e) Delegate such authority as may be deemed necessary for the efficient operation of the Fire Department to be exercised under the Fire Chief’s direction and supervision; and
(f) Report at least monthly to the Director of Public Safety in such form as shall be prescribed on the operation of the Fire Department during the preceding month and make such other reports as may be requested by the Director of Public Safety.
(B) Duties of the Deputy Chiefs. The Fire Department shall have such number of Deputy Chiefs as determined by Township Committee. The Deputy Chiefs shall be subordinate to the command of the Fire Chief. In the absence of the Fire Chief, the Deputy Chief shall act as the Fire Chief. The duties of the Deputy Chiefs are as follows:
(1) Assist the Chief with the duties and responsibilities as prescribed above.
(2) Be responsible for the maintenance of all equipment and apparatus and make recommendations to the Fire Chief for replacement.
(3) Assist the Fire Chief in preparing the annual operating and capital improvement budget.
(C) Duties of the Battalion Chiefs. The Fire Department shall have such number of Battalion Chiefs as determined by Township Committee. The Battalion Chiefs shall be subordinate to the command of the Deputy Chief. The duties of the Battalion Chiefs are as follows:
(1) The Battalion Chiefs, under the control of the Fire Chief, always has charge of the department members and apparatus. He or she shall, under the same supervision, direct the operation of the Captains of the Fire Department in the performance of their duties and enforce the rules of the Fire Department in accordance with the laws adopted by the Township Committee. He or she shall see that all members are trained and equipped to perform their duties when called upon. Upon returning to the headquarters, he or she shall see that the roll is called, absentees noted and a written report of such promptly submitted to the Fire Chief. He or she shall report to the Fire Chief all fires or alarms of fires, using the form adopted for that purpose.
(2) He or she shall report all needed repairs to the Deputy Chief but shall have no power to alter any of the apparatus without the permission of the Fire Chief. At a fire, the position of the Battalion Chief shall be at the Incident Command Post of the fire directing the members of the Fire Department.
(D) Duties of the Captains. The Fire Department shall have such number of Captains as determined by Township Committee. The Captain shall be subordinate to the command of the Battalion Chief. In the absence of the Battalion Chief, the Captain shall act as the Battalion Chief. The duties of the Captain are as follows:
(1) The Captains, under the control of the Battalion Chief, always has charge of the department apparatus. He or she shall, under the same supervision, direct the operation of the apparatus of the Fire Department in the performance of their duties and enforce the rules of the Fire Department in accordance with the laws adopted by the Township Committee. He or she shall see that the apparatus is safely returned to the Fire Department headquarters, that nothing has been lost or mislaid while responding to an alarm and that nothing has been taken from the apparatus while at headquarters. He or she shall report to the Battalion Chief all those who fail to respond when called upon to clean apparatus or turn out for drill practice. He or she shall see that the companies clean and replace in order all the apparatus belonging to it before leaving the Fire Department. He or she shall require members to wash and hang up the hose when dry to restore same to the apparatus. Upon returning to the headquarters, he or she shall see that the roll is called, absentees noted and a written report of such promptly submitted to the Battalion Chief. He or she shall report to the Fire Chief all fires or alarms of fires, using the form adopted for that purpose, through the chain of command.
(2) He or she shall report all needed repairs to the Battalion Chief but shall have no power to alter any of the apparatus without the permission of the Fire Chief. At a fire, the position of the Captain shall be at the origin of the fire, directing the members of the Fire Department.
(Ord. 311-17, passed 12-27-17; Am. Ord. 411-22, passed 10-24-22; Am. Ord. 426-23, passed 4-23-23)