[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of
Osceola 6-8-2010 by Ord. No. 10-05.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fire prevention — See Ch. 92.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Ch.
24, Fire Department, adopted 8-10-1993 by Ord. No. 7-93 as Ch. 4 of
the 1993 Code, as amended.
The volunteer fire company organized under § 213,
Wis. Stats., under the title of "Osceola Fire Department," is hereby
disbanded pursuant to § 213.04, Wis. Stats. In lieu thereof,
the members of such Fire Department are hereby officially recognized
as the Fire Department of the Village of Osceola, and the duty of
firefighting and the prevention of fires in the Village are delegated
to such Department. Its organization and internal regulation shall
be governed by the provisions of this chapter and by such bylaws adopted
by the Department as are approved by the Village Board, except as
is otherwise provided by law and ordinance.
The Osceola Fire Department shall adopt bylaws for the control,
management, and government and for the regulation of business and
proceedings of the Department, which bylaws, after adoption by a two-thirds
vote of the members of the Department, shall not become effective
and operative until presented to and approved by the Village Board.
Amendments shall be adopted in the same manner.
The Village Board shall appropriate funds to provide for operation
and for such apparatus and equipment for the use of the Fire Department
as it may deem expedient and necessary to maintain efficiency and
properly protect life and property from fire.
The officers and members of the Fire Department shall receive
such compensation from the Village as may from time to time be fixed
by the Village Board.
The Fire Department shall consist of the following officers:
one Chief, one Assistant Chief, one Safety Officer, one Training Officer,
such number of captains as may be authorized, and as many drivers
and firefighters who live and normally work within the Village area
of Osceola as may be appointed by the Chief and approved by the Village
Board, provided that at no time shall the Department consist of fewer
than 22 active members.
A.
A
vacancy in the office of the Chief shall be filled by election by
a majority vote of the Fire Department and appointment by the Village
Board. Upon creation of a vacancy of the office of Chief, the ranking
officer shall perform the duties of the Chief until such vacancy has
been filled.
B.
The
Chief shall immediately assume office and shall hold office until
removed for cause after a hearing by action of 3/4 of the members
of the Village Board, unless his or her services shall be sooner terminated
by resignation, or death.
C.
Except
for initial appointments under this chapter, the Chief and Assistant
Chief shall be members of the Department in good standing for at least
five years, have or be willing to obtain officer training pursuant
to Comm. 30.08(3)[1] within two years of appointment, and be a Village resident
unless otherwise approved by the Village Board.
[1]
Editor's Note: See now § SPS 330.08, Wis. Adm.
Code.
D.
The Chief and Assistant Chief shall live within a seven-minute drive
of the Fire Hall.
The election of the Secretary and other officers shall be held
at the annual meeting of the Department in such manner as is provided
in the bylaws. In case of any vacancy, the Chief shall appoint a member
in good standing to fill the office until the next annual election.
A.
General
supervision. The Chief shall have command of the Fire Department subject
to the supervision and direction of the Village Administrator. Said
general supervision shall be subject to and not conflict with the
provisions of Ch. Comm 30,[1] state statutes, Village Code, policies and procedures
adopted by the Village Board, and the bylaws of the Department.
[1]
Editor's Note: See now Ch. SPS 330, Wis. Adm. Code.
B.
Presiding
officer. The Chief shall preside at all meetings of the Department,
shall call special meetings, shall preserve order, shall decide all
points of order that may arise and shall enforce a rigid observance
of this chapter and the bylaws.
C.
Disciplinary
actions. The Chief may demote or expel any officer or member of the
Department for neglect or refusal to perform his or her departmental
duties, such demotion or expulsion to be subject to an appeal to the
Village Board.
D.
Appropriation
estimates. No later than October 1 of each year, the Chief shall file
with the Village Administrator a detailed estimate of the appropriations
needed for the conduct of the Department during the ensuing fiscal
year along with a listing of capital equipment or projects needs for
the following five years.
E.
Departmental
reports. The Chief shall submit a written report to the Village Board
not later than April 1 of each year, and at such other times as he
or she deems desirable, relating to:
(1)
The conditions of the various pieces of apparatus and appurtenances;
(2)
The number of fires occurring since the previous report;
(3)
The date of the same and loss occasioned thereby;
(4)
The number of members of each company;
(5)
The total number of active members in the Department;
(6)
Drills and training conducted by the Department;
(7)
Resignations and expulsions from the Department; and
(8)
Other pertinent information, including recommendations of such improvements
as deemed proper and necessary for the operation of the Department.
F.
Fire
prevention. The Chief shall enforce all fire-prevention ordinances
of the Village and state laws and regulations pertaining to fire prevention
and shall keep citizens informed on fire-prevention methods and on
the activities of the Department.
G.
Fire
record book. The Chief shall keep a fire record book of every fire
to which any company was called and shall enter in such book the locality
of fire, time alarm was received, cause of fire, where fire started,
cause of delay (if any) in responding, method of extinguishment and
equipment used, amount of insurance carried on building and contents,
estimated fire loss, time fire was extinguished, names of people responding
and general remarks.
H.
Apparatus
inventory. The Chief shall keep an inventory of all apparatus and
equipment and an inventory of all hose showing dates and results of
tests on each length, which shall be individually identified.
I.
Commanding
officer. The Chief shall perform such other duties as are incumbent
on the commanding officer of the Fire Department.
J.
Fire
Inspector. The Fire Chief shall, by virtue of his office, hold the
Office of Fire Inspector, or he may delegate a member of the Department
to serve as the Fire Inspector.
A.
The
Chief shall have control of all apparatus used by the Department and
shall be responsible for its proper maintenance. Emergency repairs
may be authorized by the Chief.
B.
No
apparatus shall be used for any purpose except for firefighting within
the Fire District boundaries, responding to calls for mutual aid,
training, or participating in community events. Other uses of Fire
Department apparatus are subject to the approval of the Village Administrator
based on the recommendation of the Fire Chief.
C.
No
person shall willfully injure in any manner any hose, hydrant or fire
apparatus belonging to the Village, and no vehicle shall be driven
over any unprotected hose of a Fire Department 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.
A.
Command at incidents. The Department shall operate under the incident
command system. The officer in command shall have complete command
of and entire responsibility for all department operations, plan the
control of the same, direct the action of the department when it arrives
at an incident, observe that the department does its duty. The Chief
or officers in command at any fire are hereby vested with full and
complete police authority at fires. Any officer of the Department
may cause the arrest of any person failing to give the right-of-way
to the Fire Department in responding to a fire.
B.
Preventive actions at fires. The Fire Chief or other officer in command
may prescribe certain limits in the vicinity of any fire within which
no persons, excepting firefighters and police officers and those admitted
by order of any officer of the Department, shall be permitted to come.
The Chief may 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 the Chief may order the removal
or destruction of any property necessary to prevent the further spread
of the fire. The Chief may also cause the removal of all wires and
other facilities and the turning off all electricity or other services
where the same impedes the work of the Department during the progress
of a fire.
C.
Firefighters may enter adjacent property. Any firefighter, while
acting under the direction of the Fire Chief or other officer in command,
may enter upon the premises adjacent to or in the vicinity of any
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 or her duty as is hereinbefore
provided, the person so offending shall be deemed guilty of resisting
firefighters in the discharge of their duty.
D.
Duties of bystanders to assist. 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.
A.
Chief to be Inspector. The Fire Chief, or his designee, shall be
the Fire Inspector of the Village of Osceola 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 Commerce, particularly § 101.14,
Wis. Stats.
B.
Inspections. The Fire Inspectors shall inspect semiannually all commercial
buildings, common areas of multifamily dwellings, premises, and public
thoroughfares within the Village and inspect annually all other structures
on Village-owned property for the purpose of noting and causing to
be corrected any condition liable to cause fire. The Inspector shall
also investigate and issue permits in accordance with the regulations
of the State Department of Industry, Labor, and Job Development for
the storage and handling of explosives and inflammable liquids within
the Village. The Inspector shall perform such other duties as required
by such Department.
C.
Removal of hazards. Whenever in the Village any inspection by the
Fire Chief or his or her deputies reveals a fire hazard, the Chief
or his or her deputies shall serve a notice, in writing, upon the
owner of the property giving said owner a reasonable time in which
to remove the hazard. If the fire hazard is not removed within the
time allowed, it shall be deemed a nuisance. The Fire Chief or his
or her deputy may have the same removed by the Village, and the cost
of such removal shall be recovered in an action by the Village against
the owner of the property.
D.
Record card. The Chief shall keep a written record card of each property
inspected, which shall conform to the requirements of the Department
of Industry, Labor, and Job Development and shall make the quarterly
report of inspections required by such Department.
E.
Access to property. No person shall deny the Chief or his or her
deputies free access to any property within the Village at any reasonable
time for making fire inspections. No person shall hinder or obstruct
the Fire Inspector in the performance of his or her duty or refuse
to observe any lawful direction given by him or her.
