Loading...
217 ..• ORDINANCE NO. 217 AN ORDINANCE CREATING THE OFFICE OF FIRE CHIEF, ASSISTANT CHIEF, AIDE-TO-CHIEF, CAPTAIN, DEFINING THEIR Di7TIES AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF V~'EST MEMPHIS, ARKANSAS; SECTION 1. OFFICE OF FIRE CHIEF CREATED: There is here- by created and established the office of the chief of the fire department. SECTION Z. l~PPOINTMENT CF FIRE CHIEF. The mayor shall have the power to appoint the chief of the fire department sub- ~~_. sect to confirmation of the City Council, who shall hold his office until the following election for mayor, and until his successor is appointed by the incoming mayor, unless sooner re- moved for cause. SECTION 3. DUTTES DEFINED; The chief of the fire department shall, at the time of his appointment be a resident and qualified voter of said city; he shall be a man who has had some experience in fighting fires and managing firemen. He shall have the right to appoint one or more assistants who shall be designated, assistant fire chief, one or more aide-to-chief, one captain for each company, and such other officers as may be necessary; such appointments to be made from a list of eligibles whose qualifications have been determined by a written competitive examination, It shall be his duty to promptly attend upon all fire alarms and assume control over, and have the management of, all firemen and fire apparatus, and requirements of all the fire- men of the city prompt obedience to his orders and efficient work in the fire department, and shall have authority to disc charge any fireman for disobedience, neglect, inefficiency or insubordination. He shall have charge and supervision of all .. 2 .. the fire apparatus of the city and see that it is kept in a safe, proper and convenient condition for use at fires; that all hose is properly drained and dried and all appliances ready for immediate use. He shall, at least once in every three months and as much oftener as the city council may direct, pre- sent a report in writing to the council, giving in detail the number of men in the department, both volunteer and employed, the condition of all fire apparatus, including fire teams, the number of fires which have occurred, and v~o of said firemen have attended said fires, together with the dates thereof, and a statement of the property inured or destroyed, together with the amount. of insurance thereon, at the same time, and in the same manner, advising the council of any .needed additions to the department, or the apparatus, for the necessities or improve- ments thereof. SECTION 1~. FURTHER DUTIES: In addition to the duties hereinbefore prescribed it shall also be the duty of the chief of the fire department to observe the building and erection of all buildings, within the fire limits, and of all chimneys and smoke stacks in said city, and in such capacity he shall be designated the 'fire warden", and as such fire warden it shall be his duty, upon observing that any building is being erected within the fire limits, which is not built in strick conformity with the ordinances and requirements of the city, or any chimney or smokestack within the city limits of said city, which is not being built in strict conformity with such ordinances and regula- tions, or when such building, chimney or smokestack is being so built and erected as to be dangerous in any respect, especially as to fires, or which he may deem to be dangerous, either in plan or method of construction, to immediately report to the mayor in writing, stating briefly wherein the ordinances and ~3- regulations of the city are being violated, and in what respect such erection and construction is dangerous, together with the name of the person or persons erecting such building, chimney or smokestack, describing the lot, block or parcel of ground whereon the work is being done. He shall also, from time to time, inspect the buildings, chimneys and smokestacks in said city with a view to ascertaining whether or not such chimneys and connections therewith are safe, and properly and safely made, and upon making such inspection, report to the mayor, in detail, any defect which he may discover, and which, n his judgment, is likely to cause loss or damage by fire. Upon the receipt of such report by the mayor, he shall .,immediately call the matter to the attention of the council, ar~d the city council shall take such action as will remedy any defects, and as the eaigeneies of the case may require. It shall also be the duty of the fire warden, whenever any building has been damaged by fire in such manner that the walls thereof, if allowed to stand, will be or become, dangerous to the public, to take immediate steps to cause such walls to be taken down, or the proper ty guarded and barricaded as the particular case may re- quire, and upon his order, in writing, directed to and served upon the owner or his agent, of any such building or buildings, ordering such walls either to be taken down to supported and barricaded, the owner of, or agent for, such property shall immediately comply with such order, and upon his failure for twenty-four hours so to do, the fire warden shall proceed to do such work as shall be necessary, either in taking down, sup- porting or barricading such walls, and the cost thereof shall be reported to the city c w.ncil in detail, and shall become a r ~ r charge against the property, and shall be taxed thereon in the same manner as is herein provided for the levy of special assess- ments; provided, that nothing herein contained shall relieve the owner of such property from any damage or in3ury which may have been caused to any person or property by reason of his failure to properly remove, support or barricade such walls or openings, either before or after such notice. SECTION 5. OFFICE OF ASSISTANT FIRE CHIEF CREATED: There is hereby created and established the off ice of Assistant Fire Chief of the Fire Department. SECTION 6. DUTIES OF ASSISTANT FIRE CHIEF: It shall be the duty of each assistant chief to assist the fire chief in all administrative and operational matters of the fire department and to perform whatever duties that may be assigned to him by the fire chief, the assistant chiefs shall have the same authority herein delegated to the fire chief. V~Ihenever an assistant chief shall commit any act unbecoming an officer, or shall be negligent in his duties, or shall refuse to carry out any order of the fire chief, he may forthwith be suspended, reduced in rank, or with the approval of the mayor and city council, discharged from the fire department; provided. however, that no officer, or member of the fire department shall ever be suspended, reduced in rank, dischar ged or otherwise discriminated against because of his political opinion or belief when expressed privately. SECTION ?. OFFICE OF AIDE-TO-CHIEF CREATED: There is hereby created and established the office of Aide-to-Chief of the Fire Department. SECTION 8. DUTIES OF AIDE-TO-CHIEF OF FIRE DEPARTMENT: It shall be the duty of the aide-to-chief to transmit orders from the fire chief to assistant chiefs, captains and~or men, when requested to do so by the fire chief; and any such order ~»5~ directed to any officer or member, in the name of the fire chief, shall immediately be complied with the same as if it had been directed in person by the fire chief. The aide-to-chief may be directed to act as an assistant chief, or captain and when so directed he shall have the same authority and powers delegated to the office in which he is acting. In the absence of all officers he shall be in charge of the operations of the fire department. SECTION 9. OFFICE OF CAPTAIN CREATED: There is hereby created and established the office of Captain of the Fire Depart- ment. SECTION 10. DUTIES OF CAPTAIN; It shall be the duties of the captains to direct the operations of their respective companies in an efficient manner at all times. Each captain shall keep himself well informed as to policies governing the fire department and shall counsel regularly with the men under his super vision and shall satisfy himself that all men under him have complete understanding of the basic fundamentals of fireman- ship. He shall encourage every man under his supervision to take advantage of all the training helps that are, or may be made available to firemen, He shall promote a program of friendly competition between the men under him and the members of other companies. He shall be responsible for maintaining a state of readiness for quick response of his unit to all alarms. He shall have the power to suspend any man under his jurisdiction for mis- conduct or neglect of duty. It shall be the duty of each captain to carry out any order given him by the fire chief or assistant chief. Whenever any captain shall commit any offense unbecoming am officer or shall be negligent in any duty, or shall refuse to - 6 r carry out any order given him by a superior .officer, he may forthwith be suspended, reduced in rank, or with the approval of the mayor and city council, discharged from the fire depart- ment. fire department shall have power to appoint all subordinates in the fire department which may be authorized by ordinance of the city council. threatens, or any other grave emergency arises, and such emer- gency is of a nature generally recognized as being a fire department matter, all facilities of the city shall be at his disposal, and he shall have authority to summons whatever outside aid he deems necessary to cope with the situation. the assistant fire chief, or chiefs, aide-to-chief and the captain, or captains, shall be designated the staff officers of the fire department. SECTION 11. APPOINTMENT OF FIREMEN: The chief of the SECTION 12. EMERGENCY: Whenever a conflagration SECTION 13. STAFF OFFICERS DESIGNATED; The fire chief SECTION 14. ADOPTION OF RULES A,ND REGULATIONS: The staff officers shall have the right to adopt rules and regulations for the operation of the fire department and when said reules have been prepared in writing, submitted to the city council, and approved by the city council, shall be the official rules and regulations governing the fire department and shall have the same force and effect as an ordinance. 1952. PASSED AND APPROVh;D THIS ~D ATTEST; C er