[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of
the Town of Johnston 12-10-1979 by Ord. No. 440 as Secs. 11-1 to 11-20
of the 1979 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fire Department and personnel regulations — See
Charter, Arts. XII and XVI.
Personnel policies — See Ch. 47.
The Council acting by and under the provisions
of Article XII of the Charter of the Town of Johnston hereby establishes
a permanent Fire Department in accordance with the provisions and
under the authority of said Charter.
[Amended 5-13-1985 by Ord. No. 572]
A.
The Fire Department shall consist of a Chief of the
Department and such additional personnel of other ranks and grades
as the Chief of the Department may from time to time determine.
B.
Personnel of the Department shall consist of permanent
firemen, call firemen and volunteer firemen, except that volunteer
firemen shall be unpaid and shall not be subject to any Town civil
service ordinance nor shall they be considered employees of the Town.
C.
The personnel organization in the Department shall
consist initially of at least the following ranks: Chief; Deputy Chief;
captains; lieutenants; privates; and with any number of call men and
volunteers necessary for proper operation.
D.
In accordance with the Town Charter of the Town of
Johnston, Article XII, the Mayor is empowered to increase or decrease
the number of permanent or call fire fighters or volunteer fire fighters
as he shall deem practicable from time to time, within the economic
structure of the Town.
All initial officer appointments shall be made
from within the ranks of volunteer fire companies now in operation
in the Town.
There shall be one Fire Chief in the Town who
shall be appointed by the Mayor and shall be subject to removal for
cause by the Mayor. He shall have charge of all fire-fighting activities.
A.
The Chief of the Fire Department shall enforce the
laws of the state and the ordinances of the Town as they pertain to
the Fire Department, and he shall exercise and perform the powers
and duties by law imposed upon and required of the Fire Department
and the Fire Chief in the several towns of the state. He shall be
the executive officer of the Fire Department and he shall have direct
control and management of all members and other personnel of the Fire
Department in the lawful exercise of their duties, according to law.
B.
It shall be the duty of the Chief of the Fire Department
to keep accurate and complete records of all fires. He shall submit
to the Mayor a monthly report and an annual report of all transactions
and activities of the Fire Department, including finances.
C.
The Chief of the Fire Department shall formulate a
program of training and may incur such expenses within the appropriation
therefor. He shall keep on file printed lists of the qualifications
necessary for appointment to the Department for the use of all applicants
for training, and for appointment to the force.
All appointees to the permanent Fire Department,
including call men, and all future appointees shall serve a six-month
probationary period before receiving their permanent appointments.
Permanent members of the Fire Department and
call men shall hold office at such compensation as the Personnel Board
and Town Council shall recommend until their position is vacated by
reason of death, resignation, removal from the Town, or inability
to serve, or until they are reduced in rank or removed from office
for cause.
All members of the Fire Department, including
the Fire Chief, shall be subject to reduction in rank or removal from
office in accordance with the provisions of Article XVI of the Town
Charter for misconduct, incapacity, infraction of the rules, neglect
of duty or insubordination of such a character as may be deemed a
disqualification of such office. All such reductions or removals shall
be made upon charges made in writing, a copy of which must be served
upon such member so charged, at least five days before the date of
hearing. The hearing shall be held by the Town Council acting as the
board of personnel review, at the next regular or special meeting
of the board which meeting shall be held no later than 30 days after
the reduction in rank or removal from office. The member shall have
the right to be represented by counsel.
The Fire Chief shall have the right to suspend
any subordinate officers or members for cause, and any suspended officer
or member shall be entitled to a hearing before the Board of Personnel
Review as provided in the preceding section.
Each member of the Fire Department, except the
Chief, and all other personnel thereof shall be appointed pursuant
to law and ordinance with due consideration given to recommendation
by the Fire Chief.
[Amended 10-11-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-17]
A.
Before
any applicant shall be appointed to a position in the Fire Department,
he shall present qualifications through examination and a certificate
from a physician appointed by the Personnel Board that he is physically
qualified.
B.
The applicant
shall bear the cost of the physical examination undergone pursuant
to this section.
[Amended 10-11-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-18]
A.
All appointments
to the Fire Department, except initial appointees, whether they be
officers or privates, may be by either:
(1)
Competitive
examination, and in accordance with the provisions of Article XVI
of the Town Charter; or
(2)
The
Mayor or his designee, based on the experience and qualifications
of an active firefighter applicant, and including but not limited
to:
(a)
Passage of NFPA 1582 physical exam;
(b)
RIEMT-C certification or agreement to obtain said certification within
the first year of employment at the applicant’s expense and
with the applicant’s sole responsibility to attend any required
classes and to retain said certification for the duration of his or
her employment; and
An applicant for a position in the Fire Department
must be a qualified voter of the Town, not younger than 18 years of
age or older than 35 years of age upon appointment to the Department,
except that initial appointees, as well as any man that is now a call
man or member of a volunteer fire company, shall be exempt from the
age requirement.
Every member of the permanent Fire Department
shall wear a uniform while on duty which shall comply with the applicable
rules and regulations. The Fire Chief may issue specific orders authorizing
the performance of certain duties while not in uniform. Each member
and call man of the Fire Department shall wear a suitable badge to
be furnished by the Department.
All matters relating to the administration of
the Fire Department shall be considered vested in the Chief of the
Department who shall be responsible to the Mayor.
The Chief of the Fire Department shall be responsible
for the management of the Bureau of Fire Prevention in accordance
with the laws of the state, the ordinances of the Town, and all rules
and regulations that shall have been or shall be adopted by the Town
Council.
The Chief of the Fire Department shall have
the authority to organize and control the officers and men of the
Fire Department and all other attaches of the Fire Department of the
Town as hereafter shall be constituted, and shall also have the authority
to make all needful rules and regulations, subject to the provisions
of Article IV of the Charter, for the efficient management and direction
thereof, not inconsistent with the laws of the State of Rhode Island.
In case of a vacancy in any office of the Fire
Department, with the exception of that of the Chief, the Chief of
the Department shall designate an officer of the permanent Fire Department
or a call officer to act in such office until a permanent replacement
has been appointed.
The Chief of the Fire Department shall prepare
the annual budget of the Department for submission to the Mayor.
The Johnston Fire Department shall be the only
recognized fire company in the Town, and no call or volunteer fire
company or department that might be organized apart from the regular
Fire Department in the future and no member thereof shall be eligible
to receive pay or funds from the Town.
[Added 7-11-1994 by Ord. No. 929]
A.
The following shall be the fee schedule for the use
of rescue vehicles and emergency services:
(1)
Advanced life support (ALS): $225.
(2)
Basic life support (BLS): $195.
(3)
Cardiac monitoring: $60.
(4)
Defibrillation: $35.
(5)
Airways: $45.
(6)
IV: $50.
(7)
Mast trousers: $35.
(8)
Oxygen, per bottle: $45.
(9)
Mileage ALS, per mile: $5.
(10)
Mileage BLS, per mile: $6.
(11)
Miscellaneous supplies: $20.
B.
Billing. The Town of Johnston may perform the billing
task or contract privately for this service. The administration shall
have the authority to contract for these services for billing and
other related services, subject to the General Laws of Rhode Island.
C.
Capital Projects Fund. The Town Finance Director, with the approval
of the Mayor, shall have the authority to allocate funds received
by the Town, for emergency services, from the Town’s general
fund to a Capital Projects Fund established for the purpose of acquiring
fire equipment and apparatus. The funds maintained in the Capital
Projects Fund shall be used solely for the purchase of fire equipment
and apparatus.
[Added 9-9-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-16]
