[[1]HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Vinland
as §§ 5-1-3, 5-1-6, 5-1-8 to 5-1-12, 5-2-1 to 5-2-5,
5-2-7 of the 2004 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: The title of this chapter was changed from
"Fires and Fire Prevention" to "Fires, Emergency Services and Fire
Prevention" 3-9-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-01.
[1]
Editor's Note: The title of this article was changed from
"Fires" to "Fires and Emergency Services" 3-9-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-01.
No person shall impede the progress of a fire engine, fire truck
or other fire apparatus of the Vinland Fire Department along the streets,
roads and alleys of the Town of Vinland at the time of a fire or when
a fire department is using such streets or roads in response to a
fire alarm or for practice.
A.
Driving over fire hose. No person shall willfully injure in any manner
any hose, hydrant or fire apparatus belonging to a fire department,
and no vehicle shall be driven over any unprotected hose of a fire
department when laid down on any road, private driveway or other place
to be used at any fire or alarm of fire, without the consent of the
Fire Department official in command.
B.
No parking near fire. It shall be unlawful for any person, in case
of a fire, to drive or park any vehicle within 300 feet from the place
of fire without the consent and authority of the Fire Chief or any
law enforcement officer.
Every person who shall be present at a fire shall be subject
to the orders of the Fire Chief or officer in command and may be required
to render assistance in fighting the fire or in removing or guarding
property. Such officer shall have the power to cause the arrest of
any person or persons refusing to obey said orders.
Whenever there shall be a fire or fire alarm or the Fire Department
shall be out for practice, every person driving or riding in a motorized
or other vehicle shall move and remain to the side of the road until
the fire engine and fire trucks and other fire apparatus shall have
passed.
A.
Open burning restricted.
(1)
Except as provided herein, no person shall set outdoor fires in the
Town without notification hereunder, except for warming the person
or cooking food or for small fires specifically permitted below.
(2)
Open burning permitted by this section shall not commence unless
the person conducting the burning shall have first notified the Winnebago
County Sheriff's Department of the anticipated controlled burning
activity.
(3)
No call-in is required for the open burning of a very small amount
of combustible material.
B.
Open burning regulations. The following regulations shall be applicable
when permitted open burning is conducted:
(1)
All open burning shall be performed in a safe, pollution-free manner,
when wind and weather conditions are such as to minimize adverse effects
and in conformance with local and state fire protection regulations.
Open burning shall not be used to covertly burn refuse, garbage, plastic,
construction debris or other prohibited materials. Permitted open
burning is intended to be used for disposal of brush and limited quantities
of other combustible materials. Open burning shall not regularly be
used as an alternative to proper collection and disposal requirements/services.
(2)
The size of the pile of material to be burned shall not exceed four
feet in any direction measured horizontally or three feet measured
vertically, unless a waiver is granted by the Fire Chief.
(3)
The pile of material being burned shall be at least 30 feet away
from any structure, wood or lumber pile, wooden fence, trees or bushes.
Provisions shall be made to prevent the fire from spreading to within
30 feet of such items or the fire shall otherwise be contained in
a fire department approved incinerator, burner, device or site which
is located at least 30 feet from any structure, wood or lumber pile,
wooden fence, trees or bushes.
(4)
Any ashes created by burning such material as is lawful under this
section are to be disposed of in a manner authorized by law.
(5)
Open burning shall be constantly attended and supervised by a competent
person of at least 16 years of age until such fire is extinguished.
This person shall have readily available for use such fire extinguishing
equipment as may be necessary for the total control of the fire while
burning and/or extinguishing such fire.
(6)
No materials may be burned upon any road, street, curb, gutter sidewalk
or public right-of-way; work conducted by Town or County maintenance
personnel are excepted from this prohibition.
C.
Fire response costs. In the event an open burning event results in
a response by the Fire Department and/or other emergency personnel,
the cost of such response may, at the Fire Chief's discretion, be
billed to the property owner and, if necessary, placed on the property
tax roll pursuant to § 66.0703(13), Wis. Stats.
[Amended 3-13-2017 by Ord. No. 01-2017; 10-8-2018; 3-9-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-01]
A.
State authority. Pursuant to §§ 60.555 and 60.557,
Wis. Stats., the Town of Vinland hereby establishes a policy and procedure
for the payment of fire costs incurred by the Town of Vinland, as
set forth in this section.
B.
Liability for fire protection and/or emergency services protection
costs. Each owner of real estate located with the Town of Vinland
for which the Fire Department provides protection shall be responsible
for costs, based upon the following.
|
Fire Calls by the Town of Vinland Fire Department
|
|
Any extra equipment called in to fight the fire not provided
by another Fire Department: actual cost used
|
C.
Invoice and payment procedure; special charge and lien. Costs of
fire charges under this section shall be paid to the Town Treasurer
within 60 days of the date of the bill. Invoices which are unpaid
60 days after their dates shall bear Interest at the rate of 10% per
annum from the invoice date. Invoices which are outstanding for more
than 90 days and are unpaid as of November 1 of any year shall become
a lien against the real estate for which fire protection was provided,
and this amount, Including interest, shall be placed on the tax roll
as a delinquent special charge against such real estate pursuant to
Wisconsin Statutes.
D.
In the event that a fire and/or emergency call is not made to real
estate located within the Town, but is instead made to a vehicle located
on a public road within the Town, whether a Town road or a county,
state or federal highway, or otherwise, the charges provided for under
this section shall be imposed on the insurer of the person(s) receiving
the fire service and on the person(s) receiving the fire service directly.
Further, to the extent applicable pursuant to § 60.55(1)
and (2), Wis. Stats., the Town may seek reimbursement from the county
or the state.
E.
Emergency/fire response costs. In response to reoccurring events
at a single property by the Fire Department and/or other emergency
personnel, the cost of such response may be billed at the Fire Chief's
discretion, to the property owner, and, if necessary, placed on the
property tax roll pursuant to § 66.0627, Wis. Stats.
Winnebago County Uniform Addressing System is to provide for
a uniform countywide addressing system that will serve the following
purposes:
A.
To aid in the timely and efficient delivery of civil defense, fire
protection and emergency services to the citizens of Winnebago County.
B.
To assist public and private enterprise in the timely and efficient
delivery of goods and services to the citizens of the County.
C.
The Town of Vinland shall require all structures and uses requiring
address numbers to be assigned a number by Winnebago County and shall
follow all specifications and mounting of all address numbers per
Winnebago County Ordinance:
(1)
Structures and uses requiring an address number shall have the number
mounted so it is clearly visible from the abutting roadway in the
following manner:
[Amended 3-13-2017 by Ord. No. 01-2017]
(a)
Structures located 75 feet or less from the right-of-way of
the abutting roadway shall have the option of mounting the assigned
number by its main front entrance or posting it at the principal access
point.
(b)
Address numbers shall be posted at the driveway access point
if any one of the following occurs:
[1]
Structures set back more than 75 feet from the right-of-way
of the abutting roadway.
[2]
Structures located in such a manner that the visibility of the
address number is obscured or is not discernible from the abutting
roadway, regardless of the structure's distance from the road right-of-way.
Final determination of the sign visibility shall be within the discretion
of the Town of Vinland.
(2)
The following specifications shall be followed when mounting address
numbers at the driveway access point:
(a)
Numbers shall be posted on the right side of the driveway access
point when viewing the property from the roadway. The sign shall be
located no more than 10 feet from the abutting road right-of-way and
no more than 20 feet from the edge of the driveway. In some site-specific
cases, numbers may be posted on the left side of the driveway when
viewing the property from the roadway.
(b)
The number shall be mounted on a post made of metal or other
durable material and shall face the abutting roadway so as to be easily
visible. The sign and post shall be maintained by the property owner
in an acceptable manner.
(3)
Although required by the postal service for mail delivery, it shall
not be acceptable to use mailboxes as the device for posting address
numbers.
It is the purpose of this article to protect the public, employees,
firefighters and property from the hazards of fire and explosion by
establishing minimum standards, consistent with nationally recognized
practice, for the use, operation, maintenance and inspection of new
and existing buildings, structures and premises. It is the intent
of this article to prescribe regulations consistent with recognized
standard practice for the safeguarding to a reasonable degree of life
and property from the hazards of fire and explosion arising from the
storage, handling and use of hazardous substances, materials and devices
and from conditions hazardous to life and property in the use or occupancy
of buildings or premises.
A.
This section is adopted pursuant to § 101.14 Wis. Stats.,
and Wisconsin Administrative Code Ch. SPS 314.
[Amended 8-11-2014, effective 8-15-2014]
B.
The International Fire Code, hereinafter "IFC," as from time to time
may be amended, is hereby adopted as though fully set forth herein,
with the following exceptions:
The provisions of this article shall apply equally to new and
existing conditions, except that existing conditions not in strict
compliance with the terms of this article shall be permitted to continue
where the exceptions do not constitute a distinct hazard to life or
adjoining property.
[Amended 8-11-2014, effective 8-15-2014]
Whenever any of the officers, members or inspectors of a fire
department serving the Town shall find any building or upon any premises
dangerous or hazardous conditions he/she or they shall order such
dangerous conditions or materials to be removed or remedied in such
manner as may be specified in said order.
A.
The service of such orders as mentioned in § 217-11 may be made upon the owner, occupant or other person responsible for the conditions, either by delivering a copy of the same personally or by delivering the same to and leaving it with any person in charge of the premises or, in case no such person is found upon the premises, by affixing a copy thereof in a conspicuous place on the door to the entrance of said premises. Whenever it may be necessary to serve such an order upon the owner of premises, such order may be served either by delivering to and leaving with said person a copy of said order or, if the owner is absent from the jurisdiction of the officer making the order, by mailing such copy to the owner's last-known post office address.
B.
If buildings or other premises are owned by one person and occupied
by another under lease or otherwise, the orders issued in connection
with the enforcing of the chapter shall apply to the occupant thereof,
except where the rules or orders require the making of such additions
to or changes in the premises themselves, such as would immediately
become real estate and be the property of the owner of the premises;
in such cases, the rules or orders shall affect the owner and not
the occupant unless it is otherwise agreed between the owner and occupant.
A.
Declarations of emergency. When there occurs a lack of precipitation,
there may exist an extreme danger of fire within the Town of Vinland.
This extreme danger of fire affects the health, safety and general
welfare of the residents of the Town of Vinland and constitutes a
state of emergency. It is hereby found that the regulation of fires,
burning materials and fireworks is necessary and expedient for the
health, safety, welfare and good order of the Town during said emergency.
B.
Regulation of fires, burning materials and fireworks. Pursuant to
§§ 323.11, 323.14(3)(a), (4), Wis. Stats., and when
a burning state of emergency is declared, it may be ordered that a
person may not:[1]
(2)
Throw, discard or drop matches, cigarettes, cigars, ashes, charcoal
briquettes or other burning materials while outdoors except into a
noncombustible container that does not contain combustible materials.
(3)
Light or ignite a flare, except upon a roadway in an emergency.
(4)
Light, ignite or use anything manufactured, processed or packaged
solely for the purpose of exploding, emitting sparks or combustible
for amusement purposes, including fireworks, firecrackers, bottle
rockets, caps, toy snakes, sparklers, smoke bombs, or cylindrical
or cone fountains that emit sparks and smoke, except in displays authorized
by the Town where adequate fire prevention measures have been taken.
C.
Period of emergency. Burning emergencies shall become effective upon
the time and date the Town Chairperson or the Winnebago County Board
declares a state of emergency and shall remain in effect until the
period of emergency ceases to exist or until the ratification, alteration,
modification or repeal of the burning state of emergency by the Town
Board or, when applicable, by the Winnebago County Board.
