[Originally established 1-8-46, amended 10-23-73 and codified
in 1973 Code § 18-1]
A Volunteer Fire Department is hereby created and established
for the Borough of Rockleigh, County of Bergen and State of New Jersey,
to consist of so many engine, hook and ladder, hose and salvage companies
as may be determined by resolution adopted at a regular meeting of
the Mayor and Council.
[1973 Code § 18-2]
The Volunteer Fire Department shall be organized and officered
as follows: one (1) Chief of the Fire Department, one (1) Assistant
Chief, and each Company shall have one (1) Captain or Foreman and
one (1) Lieutenant or Assistant Foreman. Engine Companies, Hook and
Ladder Companies and Hose Companies shall have such membership as
shall hereafter be determined by resolution of the Mayor and Council.
[1973 Code § 18-3]
The Companies of the Volunteer Fire Department shall be known
and designated without reference to their equipment, as "Company No.
1" of the Rockleigh Volunteer Fire Department, each company adopting
a numeral in order of its organization.
[1973 Code § 18-4]
Each Company shall have the power to adopt bylaws and rules
and regulations for its government, not inconsistent with the provisions
of this section, but no such bylaws or rules and regulations shall
go into effect until approved by the Mayor and Borough Council. Each
Company shall have power also to choose its officers by ballot and
to determine the qualifications of its members, except that no officers
or members shall be installed until after approval by resolution of
the Mayor and Council.
[1973 Code § 18-5]
Whenever any body of citizens shall organize a Company for fire
service, as in this section provided, shall make application in writing
to the Mayor and Council to be admitted to membership in the Volunteer
Fire Department, shall furnish satisfactory evidence of having complied
with all ordinances, rules and regulations of the Borough of Rockleigh
concerning the Volunteer Fire Department, shall also file with the
Municipal Clerk a list giving the names of the officers and the members
of the Company with the age, place of residence and date of admission
of each certified by the Captain of the Company and attested by the
Secretary thereof, and the Mayor and Council by resolution approve
of such application and accept the services of this Company, the officers
and members thereof shall hereby become members of the Volunteer Fire
Department of the Borough of Rockleigh, shall have their names entered
upon the register hereinafter provided and shall be subject to the
ordinances and rules and regulations adopted for its government and
shall be entitled to all the privileges and benefits which the law
confers.
[1973 Code § 18-6]
Upon the election of members by the Companies of this Department
as herein provided, the Secretary of each Company shall present to
the Mayor and Council at their first meeting thereafter the names
of each member so elected, which, if approved by the Council, shall
be entered in a book to be kept for that purpose and to be known as
"Register of the Volunteer Fire Department of the Borough of Rockleigh,"
which book shall contain the name of the member, his age, date of
his admission and the name of the street whereon he resides. Upon
such approval a certificate shall be issued to him, signed by the
Mayor and attested by the Municipal Clerk, that the person therein
named is a duly qualified Firefighter of the Company named, of the
Volunteer Fire Department of the Borough of Rockleigh.
[1973 Code § 18-7]
The Chief of the Department and Assistant Chief shall be chosen
by the majority votes by ballots of the members of all of the Companies
of the Department and shall hold office for one (1) year or until
their successors are chosen; the Company Officers shall be chosen
by the majority votes by ballot of the members of their respective
Companies and shall hold office for one (1) year or until their successors
are chosen. All officers of the Department shall receive a commission,
signed by the Mayor and attested by the Municipal Clerk. It shall
be the duty of the Chief of the Department as the officer highest
in rank in the Department to keep himself informed as to the fire
conditions of the Borough and the condition of the apparatus and personnel
and to report thereon in writing to the Mayor and Council at their
regular meeting each month.
[1973 Code § 18-8]
The Chief of Department shall at fires and at all times on duty
have sole and absolute command of the officers and men present and
be responsible for their discipline and efficiency; it shall be the
duty of the Assistant Chief to render such service and perform such
duties as the Chief may at any time require, and, in the absence of
the Chief, assume his obligations, exercise his powers and perform
his duties. The question of authority of the officers while on duty
shall be determined by their grade; all officers and men shall be
subordinate to the Chief of the Department. The first officer on duty
at a fire shall exercise command until his superior arrives. Where
two (2) officers of the same grade meet on duty, the one longest in
command shall take command. A Company arriving at a fire without an
officer shall be commanded by the member who first arrives at the
firehouse.
[1973 Code § 18-9]
Apparatus and appliances to be used in the Department for the
extinguishment of fires and for the protection of property exposed
to fire, or water used thereon, shall be such as the Mayor and Council
shall direct and shall be purchased and owned by the Borough of Rockleigh.
The Mayor and Council may consider the recommendations of the Chief
and at any time provide the Department with apparatus and appliances,
to remain the property of the Borough but to be maintained and used
by the Department. The Mayor and Council may appropriate sufficient
funds for the proper maintenance and repair of the equipment and apparatus
of the Department and of the maintenance of the firehouse.
[1973 Code § 18-10]
No company of this Department shall attend parades or other
functions or take apparatus outside of the Borough of Rockleigh except
with the written consent of the Mayor or, in his absence, by the consent
of a majority of the members of the Borough Council. In the absence
of both, this permission may be granted by the Fire Commissioner,
and when such permission is granted, it is with the express understanding
that the Fire Company Officers shall provide a special detail of its
members to hold themselves in readiness to render fire duty should
the necessity occur while the Fire Company is away from the Borough;
provided, however, this provision shall not apply in the case of an
appeal for help at a fire, coming from a neighboring Borough.
[1973 Code § 18-11]
The Chairman of the Fire Committee, who shall be appointed by
the Mayor and approved by the Council, shall be entitled to attend
the regular monthly meeting of the Fire Company and may, at the direction
of the Mayor and Council as their deputy, also at the request of the
Fire Company, act as their representative at the regular meetings.
[1973 Code § 18-12; New]
a.
There is hereby created and established in and for the Borough of
Rockleigh a Junior Firefighter's Auxiliary to be known as the
Junior Firefighter's Auxiliary of the Rockleigh Volunteer Fire
Department.
b.
The Chief of the Rockleigh Volunteer Fire Department is hereby authorized
and directed to take the necessary action to effect the organization
of an auxiliary herein authorized.
c.
The Junior Firefighter's Auxiliary shall be limited to ten (10)
members, each of whom shall be residents of the Borough and in good
health, as shall be so certified by a physician who shall examine
each applicant and member.
d.
Each member shall have the written permission of his parent or guardian
for membership, which permission shall be in writing and acknowledged
or proved in the manner required by law for deeds to real estate to
be recorded in accordance with the provisions of the Revised Statutes
of New Jersey, in such case made and provided, and shall be in such
form as shall be approved by the Fire Department of the Borough of
Rockleigh.
e.
Members of the Junior Firefighter's Auxiliary shall be insured
with the same coverage and in the same amounts provided for the regular
volunteer Firefighters of the Borough.
f.
No person shall be eligible for membership in the Junior Firefighter's
Auxiliary who is less than sixteen (16) years of age nor more than
eighteen (18) years of age.
g.
The following constitutes the rules and regulations to govern the
activities of the Junior Firefighter's Auxiliary:
1.
No Junior Firefighter shall be required to perform duties which will
expose him to the same degree of hazard as a regular member of the
Volunteer Fire Department.
2.
The Fire Chief shall provide an educational program in firematics
designed to train the members of the Junior Firefighter's Auxiliary,
the primary purpose of which is to train the members of the Junior
Firefighter's Auxiliary with a view toward their eventual membership
in the Volunteer Fire Department of the Borough of Rockleigh.
3.
The Fire Chief may direct advisors and training officers to assist
him in the training of the members of the Junior Firefighter's
Auxiliary.
4.
The Fire Chief shall file reports to the Governing Body concerning
the membership, training and status of the Junior Firefighter's
Auxiliary which reports shall be filed no less than semiannually during
the months of January and July in each year.
5.
No member of the Junior Firefighter's Auxiliary shall ride the
fire apparatus except upon direct order of the Chief; a member may
assist a regular Firefighter in pulling, packing and cleaning fire
hose, may wash fire apparatus and attend a fire hose at a fire from
the outside of any building, provided that a regular member of the
Fire Department shall be with him at all times. No Junior Volunteer
Firefighter shall directly approach a fire or enter a burning building.
While attending a fire, a member of the Junior Fighter's Auxiliary
shall be fully equipped in regulation clothing and gear, which clothing
and gear shall be provided by the Borough.
6.
The Junior Firefighter's Auxiliary may adopt its own constitution
and bylaws after each has been approved by the Chief of the Fire Department
and the Governing Body of the Borough of Rockleigh and a copy of such
constitution and bylaws, as amended, shall be on file with the Municipal
Clerk.
