[Derived from Ch. III of the 1969 Revised General Ordinances]
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:14-68, the Borough Council hereby recognizes
the Spotswood Enterprise Hook and Ladder Company, Inc., as consisting
of the fire department of the borough for the purpose of extinguishing
fires within the municipality. The terms for rendering fire protection
services by the Spotswood Enterprise Hook and Ladder Company, Inc.,
and the obligations both of the Borough and the company shall be set
forth in an appropriate fire protection services agreement for use
of the Borough firehouse.
A.
The Fire Department shall consist of a Chief and one Assistant Chief
and as many fire fighters as may be elected and approved by the Borough
Council. They shall be between the ages of 18 and 55 at the time of
their election to membership, citizens of the United States, with
priority in membership being given to residents of the Borough.
B.
An application for membership in the Fire Department shall be accompanied
by a certificate from a practicing physician stating that the applicant
has been examined by the physician and found physically fit for fire
duty.
A.
Submission of names; background check.
(1)
The names of all persons elected to membership in the company and
proposed as members of the Department shall be presented through the
Department in writing and signed by the officers of the company in
which elected, to be approved by the Department officers, before being
presented to the Borough Council for confirmation.
(2)
All prospective members of the Spotswood Volunteer Emergency Services,
including the Spotswood Volunteer Fire Company and Spotswood First
Aid Squad, shall be subject to a criminal background investigation
through the New Jersey State Police and the Spotswood Police Department.
In order to facilitate the background check, prospective members shall
be subject to fingerprinting administered by the Spotswood Police
Department. Disclosure of the results of the criminal background investigation
shall not be considered public information. The results may be released
only to the Mayor, Administrator, Director of Public Safety and Borough
Attorney. In the event the Borough determines to recommend the rejection
of a prospective member of any of the foregoing Spotswood emergency
services as a result of the information obtained from the criminal
background investigation, the prospective member shall be advised
of this fact and the portions of the report upon which the Borough
is relying.
B.
Resignations. All resignations from the Department shall take the
same course as election to membership.
C.
Responsibilities of Borough Clerk. The Borough Clerk shall keep an
accurate muster roll of the members of the Department and shall issue
a certificate of membership in the Spotswood Volunteer Fire Department
to each member elected and confirmed.
A.
Election of officers.
(1)
The Chief and Assistant Chief shall be elected annually from the
membership of the fire company with the approval and confirmation
of the Borough Council and shall serve no more than two successive
years. No member of the Department shall be eligible for the appointment
as Chief or Assistant Chief who has not been an active member of the
Department for at least three years and who has not been a line officer
for at least one year.
(2)
The members of the Department shall choose from their own number
a President and Vice President, a Supervisor, an Assistant Supervisor,
a Secretary, a Treasurer and a Financial Secretary in the manner and
at the time designated in the rules and bylaws of the Department.
B.
Board of Fire Officers. The Chief and the president of the Department
and the Mayor, as an ex officio member with the right to vote in case
of a tie, shall constitute the Board of Fire Officers.
A.
The Board of Fire Officers shall have entire and absolute control
over the management of the Department and its government, subject
to the approval of the Borough Council.
B.
In all fires the Chief, or in his/her absence, the Assistant Chief
shall have full power, absolute control and command and shall cause
the pieces of apparatus to be worked in the most advantageous manner.
In the absence of both the Chief and Assistant Chief, the person having
charge of the apparatus first arriving at the fire shall assume the
duties and responsibilities of the Chief until the arrival of his/her
superior officer.
C.
The Chief and Assistant Chief or officers in command at any fire
are hereby authorized to call upon the head of any Borough department
for such aid or assistance as the circumstances may require and warrant.
A.
Duties of the administrative officers of the Fire Department. In
carrying out their administrative functions and duties, the officers
shall:
(1)
Hold meetings monthly or more frequently for the transaction of all
business of the Department.
(2)
Select and appoint a secretary to keep all the records required.
(3)
Adopt and amend from time to time a code of bylaws and rules for
the control, management and government of the Department and for the
regulation of the proceedings and business of the Board, which code
shall not become operative until presented to and approved by the
Borough Council.
(4)
Prescribe uniform and designating devices as required.
(5)
Make rules concerning the resignation, transfer, retirement, expulsion
or suspension of any members of the Department. The expulsion of any
member(s) is subject to the approval of the Borough Council.
B.
Administrative reports. The following reports are required from the
line officers of the Fire Department:
(1)
The Chief shall devise forms or methods of keeping records of all
alarms of fire, fire losses, methods of extinguishment, drills, hose,
apparatus, minor equipment, condition of hydrants and starting of
motors.
(2)
The Chief shall report yearly to the Business Administrator the condition
of the various pieces of apparatus and equipment; the condition of
hydrants; the number, date, cause, loss and location of all fires;
the number in the company; the number of active members in the Department;
the resignations and expulsions; and the new members elected.
(3)
The Chief shall include recommendations for the improvement of the
Department in his/her yearly report, or as the occasion requires.
(4)
It shall be the duty of the Supervisors of the company to keep a
permanent record of the fire and drill service of each member of the
company, a copy of which shall be submitted annually to the Business
Administrator at the close of the year.
A.
Fire drills may be called at any time the Chief deems it necessary.
B.
It shall be the duty of company officers to drill and instruct the
members of the Department at least once a month.
C.
Drills and instruction shall be so arranged by the Chief and Supervisor
that they will include the proper and efficient use of all apparatus
and appliances, the quick handling of hose, the efficient handling
of streams, ladder work, salvaging, first aid saving and all modern
methods of fire fighting.
A.
Procurement. The procurement of all material shall be vested in the
Business Administrator who is empowered, if and when it shall be deemed
necessary and possible to do so, to purchase whatever fire apparatus
and equipment may be needed to provide adequate protection for the
Borough against fire.
B.
Ownership. The ownership of all apparatus and equipment shall be
vested in the Borough.
C.
Maintenance.
(1)
It shall be the duty of the line officers to keep the Business Administrator
informed of the condition of all apparatus and equipment; to recommend
the necessary replacement or purchase of additional apparatus and
equipment; and to requisition the necessary supplies and repairs before
they are actually needed.
(2)
In an emergency, when immediate repairs are necessary, the Chief
is empowered to authorize such repairs and report his/her action immediately
to the Board of Commissioners or its properly constituted authority.
(3)
It shall be the duty of the Chief to see that company officers have
all hose thoroughly washed and dried after use at fires and drills
and that no wet or dirty hose is placed on apparatus.
(4)
The Chief shall have all hose on apparatus tested at least once a
year according to fire underwriters' specifications.
D.
Drivers. It shall be the duty of the line officers, consisting of
the Chief, Assistant Chief, Supervisor and Assistant Supervisor to
appoint qualified drivers, known as "engineers," for each fire apparatus.
It shall be the duty and responsibility of the authorized drivers
to maintain all apparatus in good condition and ready for immediate
service. No one but the authorized drivers shall be permitted to handle
or repair any of the apparatus unless directed to do so by the Fire
Chief. No one shall drive the fire apparatus except the regularly
appointed drivers or engineers, unless directed to do so by the company
supervisor, the Fire Chief or the Assistant Chief, and then only in
an emergency.
E.
Removal and use.
(1)
No person shall be allowed to enter any firehouse or handle any apparatus
or implement belonging to the Department unless accompanied by an
active member of the Department.
(2)
No fire apparatus, during any fire or the report of any fire, shall
be taken or moved out of its house unless one of the line officers
or at least three members of the company to which it belongs shall
be present and available for duty.
(3)
No apparatus shall be let out for hire or let in any case, except
on the consent of the Mayor or other constituted authority or the
Chief of the Department and then only in case of a fire in a neighboring
municipality.
A.
Any Supervisor, Assistant Supervisor or member on fire duty who refuses
or voluntarily neglects to obey or execute any orders from the officer
in charge of any fire shall be subject to suspension or expulsion
from the Department in such manner and upon such hearing or trial
as may be prescribed or provided for by the bylaws and rules of the
Board of Fire Officers.
B.
All charges of neglect of duty or insubordination while on fire duty
or for infractions of this article or of the bylaws and rules of the
Department shall be tried and determined by the Board of Fire Officers,
subject to an appeal to the Borough Council who shall either confirm
the action taken or authorize a retrial. The decision of the Board
of Fire Officers at such retrial shall be final and conclusive.
A.
All procurement by lease, purchase or construction of adequate housing
facilities for the Borough-owned fire apparatus, fire equipment and
fire supplies shall be vested with the Mayor.
B.
The Mayor shall have full jurisdiction and control of all firehouses
or parts of leased firehouses or other buildings wherein Borough-owned
fire apparatus is stored.
C.
If and when it is deemed necessary, the Mayor shall be empowered
to hire full-time or part-time maintenance people, their number and
compensation to be determined as the situation warrants, to care for
and maintain the Borough fire apparatus, equipment and place of storage.
In order to afford the members of the Spotswood Volunteer Fire
Department adequate compensation for injury incurred in line of duty
not available for them under worker's compensation or employer's
liability insurance Coverage, the Commissioners, if and when they
deem it advisable, may provide insurance for the members of the Department.
A.
Eligibility for membership. Any individual between 16 and 21 years
of age shall be eligible for membership in a Junior Fire Fighter's
Auxiliary. No individual shall become a member of an auxiliary unless
permission shall be obtained from such individual's parents or
legal guardian. Such permission shall be in writing and acknowledged
or proved by the Borough Clerk in a manner required by law for deeds
to real estate to be recorded. A copy of the written permission shall
be forwarded by the Borough Clerk to the Fire Chief and the President
of the Volunteer Fire Department whose Junior Fire Fighters'
Auxiliary the individual shall have joined.
B.
Insurance coverage for junior members. Members of a Junior Fire Fighters'
Auxiliary shall be insured with the same degree of coverage and in
the same amounts provided volunteer fire fighters serving the Borough.
C.
Child labor laws. Members of the Junior Fire Fighters' Auxiliary
will serve according to the New Jersey child labor laws. A minor is
defined as anyone under the age of 18 years.
D.
Rules and regulations. The Borough Council hereby establishes the
following rules and regulations designed to provide for the training
of the auxiliary for eventual membership in a Volunteer Fire Department
and to govern the activities of the auxiliary:
(1)
Junior members will be subject to the same rules and regulations
as apply to the regular members of the Spotswood Volunteer Fire Department,
along with the additional rules governing junior membership.
(2)
No junior fire fighter shall be required to perform duties which
would expose the junior member to the same degree of hazard as a regular
member of a volunteer fire company.
(3)
No junior member shall be permitted to engage in fire fighting or
be in the area of a hazardous condition involving the handling of
dangerous or poisonous acids, dyes or injurious quantities of toxic
or noxious dust, gases, vapors or fumes.
(4)
A junior member shall be on probation until the age of 18 years and
may be expelled from the auxiliary for just cause.
(5)
A junior member shall comply with the constitution and bylaws of
the Volunteer Fire Department.
(6)
A junior member shall obey the commands of the Fire Chief or any
other officer of the Borough Fire Department in charge of a drill
or other Department activity.
(7)
Training shall include instruction concerning industrial fire systems;
breathing apparatus; municipal water systems; hydrants and alternate
water sources; care, testing and handling of fire hoses; types and
uses of handheld fire extinguishers; procedures of handling alarms;
radio procedures; care, cleaning and basic maintenance of apparatus;
preparation of knots for hosing equipment; safety measures for riding
on apparatus; use of personal safety equipment and hand tools; theories
of pumps and hydraulic fire systems and the use of ladders, including
their care and testing. Actual use of the equipment shall be encouraged
whenever it shall be deemed advisable by the Fire Department, provided
that a junior member shall not be exposed to any danger, adequate
supervision shall be provided and all possible safety precautions
shall have been taken.
(8)
A junior member may be transferred to an adult class of membership
upon achieving the age of 18 years, having complied with any requirements
of the Fire Department, having submitted a new application and subject
to final Borough Council approval.
(9)
Junior members will only be permitted to utilize the facilities at
the firehouse under adult member supervision.
(10)
These rules and regulations may be subject to modification by
the Fire Department upon the approval of the Borough Council.
