[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Lowell 4-1-2004 as Title 5, Ch. 1, of the 2004 Code of Ordinances. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A. 
General authority.
(1) 
The Town Board shall provide for fire protection for the Town of Lowell. Fire protection for the Town; or any portion of the Town, may be provided in any manner, including:
(a) 
Establishing a Town Fire Department.
(b) 
Joining with another town, village, or city to establish a joint fire department. If the Town Board establishes a joint fire department with a village under § 61.65(2)(a)3, Wis. Stats., the Town Board shall create a joint board of fire commissioners with the village under § 61.65(2)(b)2, Wis. Stats.
(c) 
Contracting with any person.
(d) 
Utilizing a fire company organized under Ch. 213, Wis. Stats.
(2) 
The Town Board may provide for the equipping, staffing, housing, and maintenance of fire protection services.
B. 
Funding. The Town Board may:
(1) 
Appropriate money to pay for fire protection in the Town.
(2) 
Charge property owners a fee for the cost of fire calls made to their property.
(3) 
Levy taxes on the entire Town to pay for fire protection.
(4) 
Levy taxes on property served by a particular source of fire protection, to support the source of protection.
(5) 
Negotiate contracts with other local governments and nations, to be adjusted annually.
(6) 
The Fire Department may also raise monies independently.
C. 
Service agreement; appropriations.
(1) 
The Town Board shall appropriate funds for Fire Department operations and for such apparatus and equipment for the use of the Fire Department(s) as the Board may deem expedient and necessary to maintain efficiency and properly protect life and property from fire.
(2) 
The Town of Lowell elects to contract for fire protection services with the Village of Reeseville. The terms of that service and the respective obligations of the Village of Reeseville and the Towns of Lowell, Portland and Elba ("the Town Group") shall be as established by intergovernmental agreement between those entities, the terms of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The Town Board shall contract for or operate and maintain ambulance services unless such services are provided by another person. The Town Board may purchase equipment for medical and other emergency calls. The Town may offer financial support to the local rescue service on an annual basis.
No person shall impede the progress of a fire engine, fire truck or other fire apparatus of a Fire Department along the streets, roads or alleys of the Town of Lowell at the time of a fire or when a Fire Department is using such streets or alleys in response to a fire alarm or for practice.
A. 
Police authority at fires.
(1) 
The Chief and Assistants or officers in command of a Fire Department at any fire are hereby vested with full and complete police authority at fires. Any officer of a Fire Department may cause the arrest of any person failing to give the right-of-way to a Fire Department in responding to a fire.
(2) 
The Fire Chief may prescribe certain limits in the vicinity of any fire within which no persons, excepting firemen and law enforcement officers and those admitted by order of any officer of the Department, shall be permitted to come.
(3) 
The Fire Chief shall have the power to cause the removal of any property whenever it shall become necessary for the preservation of such property from fire or to prevent the spreading of fire or to protect the adjoining property, and during the progress of any fire he/she shall have the power to cause the removal of all wires or other facilities and the turning off of all electricity or other services where the same impedes the work of the Department during the progress of a fire.
B. 
Firefighters to have powers of traffic officers. Members of a Fire Department, when at the scene of a fire or other emergency, or when Fire Department vehicles are upon the street pursuant to an emergency call, shall have the authority and duty of traffic officers to direct traffic, as conditions require, notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter.
A. 
The Fire Chief and Assistant Chiefs of the Fire Department(s) serving the Town of Lowell shall be the Fire Inspectors of the Town of Lowell and shall have the power to appoint one or more deputy Fire Inspectors and shall perform all duties required of the Fire Inspectors by the laws of the state and rules of the Department of Safety and Professional Services, particularly § 101.14, Wis. Stats.
B. 
While acting as Fire Inspectors pursuant to § 101.14(2), Wis. Stats., the Fire Chief, or any officer of the Fire Department designated by the Fire Chief, shall have the right and authority to enter any building or upon any premises in the Town of Lowell at all reasonable hours for the purpose of making inspections or investigations which, under the provisions of this Code, he/she may deem necessary. Should the Fire Inspector find that any provisions of this Code relating to fire hazards and prevention of fires are being violated, or that a fire hazard exists which should be eliminated, it shall be his/her duty to give such directions for the abatement of such conditions as he/she shall deem necessary and, if such directions be not complied with, to report such noncompliance to the Town Board for further action.
C. 
The Chief of the Fire Department(s) is required, by himself/herself or by officers or members of the Fire Department designated by him/her as Fire Inspectors, to inspect all buildings, premises and public thoroughfares, except the interiors of private dwellings, for the purpose of ascertaining and causing to be corrected any conditions liable to cause fire, or any violations of any law or ordinance relating to the fire hazard or to the prevention of fires. Such inspections shall be made at least once in six months in all of the territory served by the Fire Department and oftener as the Chief of the Fire Department orders. Each six-month period shall begin on January 1 and July 1 of each year.
D. 
Written reports of inspections shall be made and kept on file in the office of the Chief of the Fire Department in the manner and form required by the Department of Safety and Professional Services. A copy of such reports shall be filed with the Town Clerk.
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 street, 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. 
Parking vehicles near hydrants. It shall be unlawful for any person to park any vehicle or leave any object within 10 feet of any fire hydrant at any time.
C. 
No parking near fire. It shall be unlawful for any person, in case of fire, to drive or park any vehicle within one block from the place of fire without the consent and authority of the Fire Chief or any law enforcement officer.
A. 
Entering adjacent property. It shall be lawful for any firefighter, while acting under the direction of a Fire Chief or any other officer in command, to enter upon the premises adjacent to or in the vicinity of a building or other property then on fire for the purpose of extinguishing such fire, and in case any person shall hinder, resist or obstruct any firefighter in the discharge of his/her duty as is hereinbefore provided, the person so offending shall be deemed guilty of resisting firefighters in the discharge of their duty.
B. 
Destruction of property to prevent the spread of fire. During the progress of any fire, a Fire Chief or his/her assistant shall have the power to order the removal or destruction of any property necessary to prevent the further spread of fire; provided that it is inevitable that, unless such property is removed, other property is in danger of being destroyed by fire.
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 street until the fire engine and fire truck and other fire apparatus shall have passed.
A. 
State authority. Pursuant to §§ 60.55, 60.555, and 60.557, Wis. Stats., the Town of Lowell hereby establishes a policy and procedure for payment of fire costs incurred by the Town of Lowell as set forth in this section if the Fire Department serving the Town adopts a billing policy and has member local governments process such bills.
B. 
Liability for fire protection costs. Each owner of real estate located within the Town of Lowell is provided with fire protection by the Town of Lowell through its contracted Fire Department. However, in the event that extra equipment, such as a backhoe, ambulance standby service or any other cost to be incurred beyond normal or customary fire department procedure, must be called in at the discretion of the Fire Department Chief or other person in charge, the owner of the real estate is responsible for the actual costs of the extra equipment or supplementary essentials which are necessary.
C. 
Liability for fire calls when Fire Departments other than authorized Fire Departments. Any owner of real estate located within the Town of Lowell who shall request fire protection for such property directly from any Fire Department other than the Town of Lowell's designated Fire Department(s), or from any other contractor, shall be responsible for the full costs billed to the Town for the fire call from such Fire Department. This section shall not apply to the costs of any other Fire Department responding to the request of a Fire Department under a mutual aid agreement.
D. 
Invoice and payment procedure; special charge and lien. Costs of fire calls chargeable under this section shall first be submitted to the property owner's insurance carrier for possible payment. In the event the insurance carrier denies payment, the costs of fire calls chargeable under this section shall be invoiced by the Town Clerk to the property owner(s) and shall be paid to the Town Clerk within 90 days of the date of the bill. Invoices which are unpaid 90 days after their dates 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 § 66.0627, Wis. Stats.