[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Andover 12-8-1941. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fire prevention — See Ch. 70.
A Fire Department be and is hereby established in and for the Borough of Andover, Sussex County, New Jersey, to consist of such companies, officers and firemen as hereinafter prescribed.
The Mayor shall appoint two members of the Borough Council, who shall be known as the Fire Commissioner and Deputy Fire Commissioner, respectively. The Fire Commissioner and, in his absence from the borough for a period of more than three days, the Deputy Commissioner shall have supervision, control and management of the Fire Department, subject however to the ultimate control of the Mayor and Borough Council.
The Fire Department shall elect, subject to the confirmation of the Borough Council, two members of the Fire Department who shall be known as the Chief and Assistant Chief, respectively. They shall hold office for the term of one year, and the Chief and, in his absence, the Assistant Chief shall have control of the Fire Department, subject to the control of the Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner and the Mayor and Borough Council. The Department shall elect such other officers as they may provide for in their bylaws, for the terms as provided, as shall not be inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter.
As lately organized and as this chapter incorporates, the present Borough of Andover Fire Department shall be and the same is hereby designated as the Department recognized by the Mayor and Council as the official Department of the said Borough of Andover.
The Fire Commissioner or the Deputy Fire Commissioner shall immediately after the annual meeting of the Borough of Andover Fire Department and at the next regular meeting of the Borough Council of the Borough of Andover certify the result of any election held by the Department and the election of said officers shall be subject to the confirmation of the Mayor and Council, who shall act upon the same immediately.
The Chief and Assistant Chief and all officers of the said Department shall hold office until their successors have been elected and confirmed.
The membership of the said Borough of Andover Fire Department shall be limited to 25 active members. Said Department may have as many honorary members as they see fit, who may participate in the social and recreational activities of the department but not in the protection from fire afforded, and the Borough Council shall not be responsible for the honorary members, nor need their appointments be confirmed.
Applications for membership in the Andover Borough Fire Department shall come before the members directly at a regular meeting and shall be voted upon at the next regular meeting. Such applications may be either accepted or rejected but in every case where the application is voted upon the number of ballots required to elect shall be such as required by the bylaws of the department and shall be subject to the approval of the Council of the Borough of Andover. The secretary of the department shall certify to the Fire Commissioner the names of the members accepted by the department which shall be by the Fire Commissioner or Deputy Fire Commissioner referred to the Mayor and Council for confirmation. The Mayor and Council shall then determine whether or not the applicant shall be admitted to membership, and if they shall refuse confirmation, their decision shall be final.
The Borough of Andover Fire Department may establish, with the approval of the Fire Commissioner, such rules, regulations and bylaws governing themselves, so long as the same shall not be inconsistent with this chapter, the rules or regulations of the Mayor and Council or of the Fire Commissioner. No rule, regulation or bylaw shall be suspended, amended or promulgated without the consent of the Fire Commissioner.
All rules and regulations of the Fire Commissioner or of the Mayor and Council shall not become effective until 10 days after the same has been posted at Fire Headquarters. They shall remain posted for a period not less than six months.
The Chief shall be in command at all times when the apparatus leaves Fire Headquarters and shall at other times be responsible to the Fire Commissioner for the condition of the same. In the absence of the Chief and Assistant Chief, the first officer arriving shall have charge until the arrival of his superior officer. The officers in charge shall at all times see that their apparatus and quarters shall be kept in good, clean and respectable condition.
The Chief shall be required to make a report to the Council of all services rendered by the Department in response to an alarm. He shall keep a record book and shall keep the names of the members responding to roll call at headquarters.
Charges against officers or members of the Department for the infraction of the rules of the Department, of this chapter or the rules and regulations of the Fire Commissioner or of the Mayor and Council shall be made to the Fire Commissioner, who shall as speedily as possible proceed to investigate the charges and, after such investigation, shall report to the Mayor and Council in writing, making such recommendations as to him shall seem just and proper, in view of all circumstances. The Mayor and Council shall thereupon cause a notice in writing to be served on the officer or member against whom the charges are preferred, to appear before the Mayor and Council at a time and place to be specified therein to answer such charges, and after hearing said officer or member, or his attorney in his behalf, in his own defense, or in case he fails to appear, the Mayor and Council may, by resolution, reprimand, suspend or dismiss said officer or member from the Department or exonerate him from the charges.
The Department may also impose such punishment not inconsistent with the provisions hereof, excepting, however, suspension or expulsion, as the membership of the Department may think it advisable in order to maintain proper discipline.
The Mayor and Council shall make an annual inspection of the Department on the second Monday in January of each year at 8:00 p.m., Eastern standard time, at the Borough Hall or such other times as the Mayor and Council may direct, at which time all members of the Department shall be present with personal equipment belonging to the borough, unless excused by the Fire Chief, who shall explain to the Mayor and Council the reason for such absence. The Mayor and Council may hold a separate inspection or delegate such inspection at such time as they may direct.