[Amended 10-21-2015 by Ord. No. Z-379]
There is hereby established a Division of Fire in the Department
of Public Safety, which shall be responsible for providing fire prevention
and fire protection in the City. The Division of Fire shall also be
responsible for enforcement of state statutes, rules and regulations
and City ordinances governing fire prevention. The Mayor, or his/her
authorized designee, and the Director of Public Safety shall have
the authority to authorize and approve internal rules and regulations
for the Division of Fire, and its employees, and revise same as necessary,
by executive order.
There is hereby created and established the position of Fire
Chief, who shall also serve as head of the Division. The Fire Chief
shall be appointed in accordance with Title 11A, Civil Service, of
the Revised Statutes of New Jersey by the Director of the Department
of Administration. The duties and powers of the Fire Chief are vested
in state statute, rules and regulations and City ordinances.
[Amended 12-4-2002 by Ord. No. DR-76; 11-21-2007 by Ord. No. DR-335; 4-2-2008 by Ord. No. DR-353]; 9-7-2011 by Ord. No. Z-121; 10-17-2012 by Ord. No. Z-216; 5-7-2014 by Ord. No. Z-295; 11-13-2017 by Ord. No. Z-525; 6-1-2022 by Ord. No. B-466; 4-19-2023 by Ord. No. B-555]
The staff of the Division of Fire shall not exceed the following
sworn personnel, within the budgetary constraints established by the
Council:
|
Rank/Position
|
Number
|
|---|---|
|
Chief
|
1
|
|
Battalion Chiefs
|
8
|
|
Captains
|
35
|
|
Firefighters
|
78
|
|
Fire Marshal
|
1
|
There is hereby assigned and transferred to said Division all
of the subordinate officers and employees in the City of Hoboken holding
their offices and positions under tenure of office under any law of
this state or Title 11 (Civil Service) of the Revised Statutes of
New Jersey[1] and now exercising and performing any of the functions,
powers and duties as heretofore. Nothing herein contained shall be
construed to affect or impair the tenure of office, civil service
or pension rights of any of the officers and employees transferred
to said Division.
[1]
Editor's Note: Title 11 was repealed by L. 1986, c. 112, which
enacted Title 11A, Civil Service.
[Amended 4-3-2023 by Ord. No. B-545]
A.
The City of Hoboken, as the appointing authority for firefighter
candidates, hereby requires that each candidate be a resident of the
City of Hoboken on the announced closing date(s) of the open competitive
examination(s), and each candidate shall be required to be a continuous
resident of the City of Hoboken (jurisdiction) from the announced
closing date of the examination down to the date of the appointment
of the candidate to a position of firefighter. A breach in the candidate's
residency as required herein shall disqualify a candidate for appointment.
B.
The conditions of residency as required by this chapter shall apply
to all open competitive examinations for firefighters (entry level)
given by the New Jersey Department of Personnel after the effective
date of this section.
C.
A certified copy of this section shall be filed with the New Jersey
Department of Personnel.
There is hereby transferred and assigned to said Division all
of the property, books, papers and records relating to any of the
offices and other governmental agencies hereinabove allocated and
assigned to said Division, except such books, papers and records as
are now required by law or ordinances of the City of Hoboken to be
kept in the office of some other officer or department of the City
government.
All appropriations available or to become available to any department,
board, commission, office or other governmental agency, the functions,
powers and duties of which are hereby assigned and transferred to
said Division, are hereby transferred to the Division established
hereby and shall be available for the objects and purposes for which
appropriated.
A.
EXPENDABLE ITEMS
HAZARDOUS MATERIAL
VEHICLE
VESSEL
Definitions. As used in this article, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated:
Any items used to extinguish any fire or stop or contain
any leak or spill involving any hazardous material which cannot be
reused or cannot be replenished without cost after that particular
fire, leak, or spill. These include, but are not restricted to, firefighting
foam, chemical extinguishing agents, absorbent material, sand, recovery
drums, and specialized protective equipment to include but not be
restricted to acid suit, acid gloves, goggles and protective clothing.
Any material, solid, liquid, or gas, listed as such under
the National Fire Prevention Association Guide of Hazardous Materials
or Department of Transportation Guide Book.
Any motorized equipment, registered or unregistered, including
but not limited to passenger cars, motorcycles, trucks, tractor-trailers,
construction equipment and farm machinery.
Any container, drum, box, cylinder, or tank used to hold
or contain or carry or store any hazardous material.
B.
Purpose.
(1)
This section provides for the replacement of the specialized
and sometimes nonreusable equipment required by state and federal
regulations to be made available in the City in case of fire, leakage,
or spillage involving any hazardous material.
(2)
This section entitles the City of Hoboken to reimbursement for
any expendable items used by the City or any of its agencies in extinguishing
any fire, stopping or containing any leak, or controlling any spill
of hazardous materials.
C.
Reimbursement for expendable items. Reimbursement to the City for
any expendable items used shall be made by the following parties:
(1)
The owner or operator of any vehicle responsible for any fire,
leak, or spill of hazardous material.
(2)
The owner or person responsible for any vessel containing hazardous
material involved in any fire, leak, or spill on public or private
property, whether stationary or in transit, whether accidental or
through negligence.
D.
Reimbursement for services. Any person or company responsible for
any fire, leak, or spill involving a hazardous material must provide
reimbursement for all municipal response costs incurred including,
but not limited to, response team costs, manpower costs, apparatus
per diem cost, costs for services rendered by any recovery company,
towing company or other technical assistant called for by the Hoboken
Fire Department to handle such incident.
E.
Payment. Any person, owner or company responsible for any fire, leak
or spill of hazardous material shall reimburse the City for the full
price of any expendable items or services used to extinguish such
a fire, stop or contain such a leak, or control such a spill within
a period of 45 days after receipt of a bill from the Fire Department.
F.
Violations and penalties. Any person, owner or company responsible
for any fire, leak or spill of hazardous material who fails to reimburse
the City of Hoboken within the time set forth in this section shall
be subject to a fine of not more than $5,000 per day, imprisonment
for a period of not more than 90 days and/or a period of community
service not exceeding 90 days.
G.
Appeals.
(1)
Any person, owner or company responsible for reimbursement for
equipment and/or services pursuant to this section may appeal any
enforcement action to the Chief of the Hoboken Fire Department. Such
appeal must be delivered in writing to the Chief of the Department
within 10 days of receipt of notice of such action.
(2)
The appealing party is entitled to the opportunity to be heard
by the Chief of the Department concerning any enforcement action undertaken
pursuant to this section.
(3)
The Chief of the Department may, at his discretion, state a
period of reimbursement pending the hearing.
