[Code 1991, § 8-21]
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article,
shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where
the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Only members of a firefighting company whose members serve
without pay and whose names have been duly certified by the secretary
of such company as active members thereof to the Clerk of the Circuit
Court of the City.
[Code 1991, § 8-22]
The Fire Department of the City shall consist of a chief, a
career fire company, and a volunteer fire company.
[Code 1991, § 8-23]
A.
Appointment. The Chief of the Fire Department shall manage the day-to-day
functions of the Fire Department and perform such other duties as
the City Manager may direct. He shall be appointed by the City Manager
and serve at the pleasure of the City Manager. He shall be under the
direct control of the City Manager, to whom he shall report.
B.
Salary. The salary of the chief shall be determined by the City Council.
C.
Authority generally. Subject to the control of the City Manager,
the chief is hereby given full power and authority over the Fire Department,
including quarters, equipment, operation and personnel and the volunteer
fire company, subject to the restrictions set forth in this article.
D.
Duties; authority at fires and drills. The chief shall be responsible
for the efficient operation of the Fire Department and shall have
the authority, with the approval of the City Manager, to make and
enforce reasonable rules and regulations not in conflict with state
laws or City ordinances. However, at and during a fire and fire drills,
the authority of the chief shall be supreme and unrestricted and he
shall not be subject to any orders or directions whatsoever at such
times. The chief shall specify training standards for the active members
of the volunteer company. The chief shall also establish reasonable
duty time for volunteer company members, as mutually agreed upon by
the chief and the volunteer company.
[Code 1991, § 8-24]
Any member of the career fire company or the volunteer fire
company of the City may attach to his automobile such special tag
or emblem as the chief of the department may approve, signifying that
the owner of such automobile is a member of the career fire company
or the volunteer fire company. It shall be unlawful for any person,
other than a member of the career fire company or the volunteer fire
company, to use or display such special tag or emblem, or any other
tag or emblem intended to indicate that the owner of such automobile
is a member of the career fire company or the volunteer fire company
of the City. Anyone violating this section shall be guilty of a Class
2 misdemeanor.
[Code 1991, § 8-25]
A.
For the violation by a firefighter, whether a career firefighter
or a member of the volunteer company, of any law, rule, or regulation
of the Fire Department, the disobedience of orders, misconduct on
duty, neglect of duty, disrespect of authority or conduct unbecoming
a firefighter, the chief shall have the power and authority to suspend
any such firefighter by written order, without pay, for a period not
to exceed 10 days.
B.
Should the chief be of the opinion that an offense by such firefighter warrants a more severe punishment than that described in Subsection A of this section, he may, with the approval of the City Manager, expel a member of the volunteer fire company, discharge a career firefighter, or suspend him without pay for such period as the City Manager may approve. The suspension shall not exceed 30 days.
[Code 1991, § 8-26]
The career fire company and its membership, the volunteer fire
company and its membership, and the Fredericksburg Rescue Squad, Incorporated,
and its membership are hereby declared to be an integral part of the
official safety program of the City and entitled to such benefits
provided by the general assembly as may be available to the members
thereof.
[Code 1991, § 8-27; Ord. No. 97-30, 1-13-1998]
A.
The City Council may provide for the relief of any children and surviving
spouse of any firefighter who dies, and on or before July 1, 1977,
shall provide for the relief of any firefighter who is disabled by
injury or illness as the direct or proximate result of the performance
of his duty, including the presumption under Code of Virginia, § 27-40.1,
in the service of the City or any political subdivision with which
it contracts or has contracted for fire protection, whether such firefighter
is a member of a fire company of the county in which the injury occurred
or of a political subdivision with which it contracts for fire protection.
Such total disability retirement benefits shall be not less than those
provided under the in-line-of-duty disability retirement provisions
of the Code of Virginia, § 51.1-157 and shall be in such
amounts and upon such terms as the City Council may from time to time
determine. Such relief of any child and surviving spouse of any firefighter
who dies shall be exclusive of, and not dependent upon, any payment
under the Line of Duty Act, Code of Virginia, § 9.1-400
et seq.
B.
The death or any condition or impairment of health of salaried firefighters
caused by respiratory diseases, hypertension, or heart disease resulting
in total or partial disability shall be presumed to have been suffered
in the line of duty, unless the contrary be shown by a preponderance
of competent evidence, provided that:
(1)
Prior to making any claim based upon such presumption for retirement,
sickness, or other benefits on account of such death or total or partial
disability, such firefighter shall have been found free from respiratory
diseases, hypertension, or heart disease, as the case may be, by a
physical examination which shall include such appropriate laboratory
and other diagnostic studies as the City Council shall prescribe and
which shall have been conducted by physicians whose qualifications
shall have been prescribed by the City Council; and
(2)
Any such firefighter or, in the case of his death, any person entitled
to make a claim for such benefits, claiming that his death or disability
was suffered in the line of duty shall, if requested by the City Council
or its authorized representative, submit himself, in the case of claim
for disability benefits, to physical examination by any physician
designated by the City Council, which examination may include such
tests or studies as may reasonably be prescribed by the physician
or, in the case of a claim for death benefits, submit the body of
the deceased firefighter to a postmortem examination to be performed
by the medical examiner for the City appointed under Code of Virginia,
§ 32.1-282. Such firefighter or claimant shall have the
right to have present at such examination, at his own expense, any
qualified physician he may designate.
C.
Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as extending or otherwise
affecting the provisions of Code of Virginia, Title 65.2, relating
to workers' compensation.
[Code 1991, § 8-28]
[Code 1991, § 8-29]
The City Manager shall make provisions for the employment of
a physician and the performance of the physical examinations required
by Fire Department policy and shall cause such an examination to be
made of every firefighter in the City's service or in the service
of a political subdivision with which the City has contracted for
fire protection at the time such firefighter is hired.
