[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of Elm Grove 3-22-1955;
as amended through 2-8-1993. Subsequent amendments noted
where applicable.]
The Elm Grove Volunteer Fire Department is hereby officially recognized
as the Fire Department of the Village of Elm Grove. The duty of fire fighting
and prevention in the village is delegated to such Department. The provisions
of the Wisconsin statutes, the Wisconsin Administrative Code, this chapter
and such bylaws as are approved by the Village Board of Trustees from time
to time shall govern the organization and regulation of the Department.
The Village Board shall appropriate such funds for the use of the Fire
Department as the Village Board may deem expedient and necessary to maintain
efficiency and properly protect life and property from fire.
Qualification for membership, classification of members and procedures
for application, resignation and expulsion shall be as provided in the bylaws.
The officers of the Fire Department shall consist of a Chief and such
other officers as are provided in the bylaws. The terms of officers, the method
of appointment and their respective duties shall be as provided in the bylaws.
A.
The Fire Department shall be responsible for the proper
maintenance of all of its equipment.
B.
No Fire Department equipment shall be used for any purpose
except for fire fighting within the village limits or in training therefor,
except pursuant to an agreement approved by the Village Board. With the approval
of the Village Manager, such equipment may be used within the village for
purposes other than fire fighting.
C.
All Fire Department equipment, whether new or of a replacement
nature, shall be of a uniform size and type, as required by the Wisconsin
statutes and the Wisconsin Administrative Code.
A.
The Fire Department, through its duly authorized officers,
is hereby vested, in conjunction with the Police Department and other authorized
officials, with full and complete police authority at fires.
B.
Any officer of the Fire Department may arrest any person
failing to give the right-of-way to the Fire Department responding to a fire.
C.
No person shall willfully injure in any manner any hose,
hydrant or Fire Department equipment, and no vehicle shall be driven over
any unprotected fire hose when laid down on any street, private driveway or
other place for use at any fire or alarm of fire, without the consent of the
Fire Department official in command.
D.
The Chief, or other officer in charge, may prescribe
certain limits in the vicinity of any fire within which no persons, excepting
fire fighters and police officers and those admitted by order of any officer
of the Fire or Police Department, shall be permitted to come.
E.
The Chief, or other officer in charge, 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 or she shall have the power to order the removal or destruction of
any property necessary to prevent the further spread of the fire. He or she
shall also have the power to cause the removal of all wires or other facilities
and the turning off of all electricity, gas or other services where the same
impedes the work of the Fire Department during the progress of a fire. No
person shall hinder, resist or obstruct the Chief or other officer in charge
in the performance of his or her duties hereunder.
F.
It shall be lawful for any fire fighter while acting
under the direction of the Chief or other officer in charge to enter upon
the premises adjacent to or in the vicinity of any building or other property
then on fire for the purpose of extinguishing or controlling the spread of
such fire. No person shall hinder, resist or obstruct any fire fighter in
the performance of his or her duties hereunder.
G.
No person shall give a false fire alarm in any manner
whatsoever, nor shall any person interfere with the proper functioning of
a fire alarm system,[1] nor shall any person interfere with the lawful efforts of fire
fighters to extinguish or control a fire.
H.
No person shall interfere with the accessibility to a
fire hydrant within the Village of Elm Grove by piling or dumping any material
near it.
[Amended 7-26-2005]
Any person who shall violate any provision of this chapter or any rule or regulation made under this chapter shall be subject to a penalty as provided in § 1-16 of this Code.
A.
All members of the Village of Elm Grove Volunteer Fire
Department who are injured, disabled or killed in the line of duty shall be
entitled to workers' compensation and/or death benefits as provided for
in Ch. 102, Wis. Stats., which chapter is expressly incorporated by reference
as though fully set forth herein.
B.
In no event shall the Village of Elm Grove's liability
exceed that provided for in Ch. 102, Wis. Stats., nor, as to third parties,
shall the Village of Elm Grove's liability for the acts or omissions
of its volunteer fire fighters or officers exceed that provided for in § 893.80,
Wis. Stats.
