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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance No. 340M ORDINUANCE NO. %346 AIT ORDIITAYCE OF THE CITY OF AZUTSA, LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, REGULATING THE FIRE DEPARTT.4EN^1 OF SAID CI^1Y AND REPEALING ALL INCONSISTEI,7 PROVISIONS OF PRIOR ORDINAA;CES. as follows: The- City Council of the City of Azusa does ordain Section 1. The City Council of the City of Azusa shall have complete supervision over the Fire Department of said city. Section 2. The Firemen of the Fire Department shall ,consist of a Chief, one Assistant Chief, and as many other officers and men as are or may be selected or approved by the City Council. Section 3. All members of the Department shall serve during good behavior or until such time as retired on account of incapacity, age or length of term of service. Section 4. (a) The Chief shall be appointed by the City Council. (b) The Assistant Chief and all other subordinate officers and men shall be appointed by the Chief by and with the consent and approval of the City Council. In the appointment and promotion of the Chief,Assistant Chief and subordinate officers and men, consideration shall be given to seniority, ability and service record. (c) Appointment of members of the Fire Department shall be made with the object of main- taining and improving the efficiency of the Department. No one shall be eligible for appointment to the Fire Department who is under twenty-one years of age. All appointees shall measure up to that standard of stature, physique and intelligence as will maintain the high standard of the Department. (d) Members of the Department shall reside in the City of Azusa and shall have been a resident thereof for at least one year immediately prior to their appointment. (e) All new members appointed to the Department shall serve a probation period of six months before a permanent appointment thereto, during which probation period they shall be under the obser- vation of the officers of the Department. - Section 5. executive officer in him shall vest and duties., The Chief shall be the chief of the Fire Department, and the following authorities (a) To have direct control, management and direction of all officers and men of the fire department and the power to detail any of them to such public service as he may see fits looking to the best interest and efficiency of thedepartment. (b) To carry out strictly the enforcement of the rules and regulations of the depart- ment. (c) To suspend or remove from service any officer or fireman for cause in such manner as is provided in these regulations. (d) To exercise supreme command over the department and its personnel and equipment at fires. (e) To cause all fires to be extinguished with the least possible danger to life and property and to prevent unnecessary damage at fires. (f) To observe and keep informed on the general condition of the department and apparatus. (g) To make a monthly report to the super- visory body as to the activities and condition of the department and condition of all apparatus and equipment. Section 6. The Chief shall make a complete investigation of each fire, and is hereby required to devise and keep records of all fires including the date, time, location, description of same and of the property involved, names of owners and occupants or custodians thereof, probable origin of the fire, method of extinguishment, amount of property loss, valuation of property involved, amount of insurance carried, amount of insurance paid and all other pertinent facts. Section 7. (a) The Chief shall conduct regular inspections of men, apparatus and equipment at least once a month andshall make a monthly report to Council regarding same. Such officer is charged with the duty of seeing to it that all equipment and apparatus is in good condition and ready for use. I (b) The Chief shall see to it that records are kept, and shall be responsible for the keeping of records as to all inspections, which records shall be made a part of the permanent records of the Fire Department. Section 8. The Assistant Chief shall rank next to the Chief and shall have similar qualifications. He shall take complete charge in the absence of that officer and be invested with the same authorities and duties while so acting. Arrangements shall be made so that the Assistant Chief is present in the absence of the Chief. In the presence of the Chief it shall be his duty to aid the Chief in every possible manner, to maintain strict discipline and to insure efficient operati6n of the department. Section 9. Each properly equipped separate piece of pumping, hose carrying or ladder service apparatus in active service shall be considered a company. Section 10. A company captain shall be provided and appointed for each company. Each captain shall, under the direction of the chief officers, have absolute command and control of his company and shall be held responsible for discipline and proper mainten- ance and condition of equipment. Other company officers shall be designated, so that their order of succession may be clear in the absence of superiors. The superior company officer shall take full charge at fires, if arriving there before the chief officer or officers, and shall report to them in person, upon their arrival, as to the condition of affairs. Section 11. Operators in charge of vehicular apparatus shall act as drivers thereof and shall be held responsible for getting their apparatus to fires and properly manoeuvering the same. Section 12.(a) The operator of each piece of apparatus shall be held responsible for the care and management of the same and for seeing to it that it is clean, in, ;food order and ready for service. It shall be the duty of the operators to systematically subject all motors, engines and vehicular equipment to regular work-outs and road tests. (b) A complete log book record shall be kept for each piece of vehicular apparatus and entries shall be made of all operation, work-outs, road tests, maintenance and performance thereof. (c) Substitute operators of apparatus shall be appointed who shall serve in the absence of the regular operators. (d) Operators of apparatus shall inform their company commanders of all necessary repairs needed on the apparatus in their charge. Section 13 (a) There shall be firemen on duty at the main fire station at all times, excepting in case of fire. (b) A regular watch or substitute watch shall be maintained at the fire station at all times'to receive fire calls. Section 14. All members of the 'ire Department shall be trained in general to handle any and all of the fire apparatus provided, and in particular to handle that part of the apparatus placed in their special charge. Section 15 (a) The Department shall be drilled and maintained under the direction of the officers thereof, to the end that fires shall be controlled immediately at their start so far as possible. Drills shall be in charge of competent officefs who shall be responsible for the proper training of the men and the standardization of rrethods. Drills shall be held by each company at least' twice a month. (b) All drills shall be conducted as a fire school whether at the department headquarters or outside, the location of which drills shall be changed from time to time so as to familiarize the fire- men with conditions in all parts of town. The handling of apparatus in drills outside the station shall approximate as nearly as possible actual fire conditions. W ose connections shall be made with hydrants and engines, hose unloaded and stretched without kinks, couplings shall be made, ladders raised, electrical conductors ascertained and considered, engines tested, and water used where practicable. At the conclusion of the drills and on order from the officer in charge, the company or companies shall replace and recondition all apparatus and equipment and promptly place all in readiness to immediately respond to afire call. (c) Drills, whether outside the station or house drills, shall be held under the direction of the Chief or of some competent drill master appointed by him. (d) In addition to the drills, or as a part thereof, inspections shall be made by company officers not less frequently than once monthly, of buildings and other fire hazards in the city, the condition and lay of water mains and fire hydrants and the like, so that the Department may be at all times in possession of up-to-date information as to the best methods of attacking any fire. Section 16. All hydrants shall be kept under constant surveillance by officers of the Department and all defective hydrants immediately repaired and report made to the City Council thereof. Section 17. All engines and other apparatus shall be maintained at not less than 9011�o- of their reasonable capacity and efficiency. Section 18. Each length of hose shall be numbered and a record.kept of the date of purchase of same, make, tests and the like. Tests of hose shall be made under the conditions laid down by .the National Board of Fire Underwriters. All hose shall be -thoroughly washed and dried after it is used and no' wet or dirty hose shall be placed in the apparatus. Hose couplings shall be kept in first class condition and all threads checked with standard tap and die. The couplings on all new hose shall be checked and tested before being put into use. Section 19. Unless otherwise ordered by the Chief, all members of the Department shall respond to all fires and attend all drills. Members of the Department failing to respond to fire alarms to which it is their duty to respond, or failing to attend drills, shall be subject to punishment by the Chief. Section 20. Any member of the Fire Department excepting the Chief, leaving, town, shall inform the Chief immediately and obtain a leave for such absence. The Chief, upon leaving town, shall obtain leave for such absence from the Chairman of the Council Committee on Police and Fire, or in the absence of such chairman, from the Mayor, or in the absence of the Mayor, from any member of the Police and Fire Committee of Council. Section 21. A member desiring to transfer his membership from one company to another shall present to the Chief Officers of the Department a signed certificate in writing, approved by the company officers of both companies, showing the consent of each company to such transfer. Upon the receipt of such certificate the Chief shall permit or deny such transfer, his decision being final and conclusive. Section 22. Members of the Department shall. at all times be thoroughly familiar with all rules, regulations and ordinances pertaining to the Fire Department or to fire prevention. Section 23. information relative to fires,alarms or department business shall, under no circumstances, be riven out to anybody, excepting by the Chief. Persons making; such ingLtIes shall be referred to the Chief. Section 24. Nembers of the Department refusing to obey orders of superior officers shall be reported immediately in writing to the Chief. Failure on the part of any officer to so report shall constitute a violation of this rule. i Section 25. Ido member shall be under the influence of intoxicating liquors, beverages, drug or compounds while on duty, nor shall any of same be kept in stations. Section 26. Visitors shall be politely escorted through quarters and proper explanations made, but habitual lounging or visiting in or about quarters shall not be allowed, nor shall children be allowed to enter qugrters, under any circumstances, unless accompanied by an adult. Female visitors shall not be allowed around quarters after 8;00 P.IJ. Section 27. Persons not connected with the Fire Department shall not be permitted toiride on the vehicular apparatus. Section 28. Members of the Department are pro- hibited from using the telephone in service therein for any other purpose than business connected with the department. One telephone shall be reserved for fire calls only and shall be used only for such or, in extreme cases, fdr other emergencies. Section 29 (a) Complete records shall be kept of the attendance of every member of the Fire Department at fires, drills, schools and meetings. i (b) Complete minutes of all meetings of the Fire Department shall be kept under the direction of the Chief. Said minutes shall fully and completely set forth every action and vote of the Fire Department on every subject on which action or vote is taken.' Section 30 (a) Any member of the Depaitmant shall be removable by the City Council of the City of Azusa for just cause after trial before the City Council, which council may act by vote of the majority of the councilmen voting at any regular meeting, or at any special meeting called for the purpose of considering charges against said member of the Fire Department, a quorum of the Council being present. (b) The City Council shall constitute a trial board for the purpose of considering, hearing, trying and determining any charges made against any member of the Fire Department. If such City Council by a majority vote of those councilmen voting, a quorum being present, at a regular meeting, or at a special meeting called for the purpose of considering any such charge, finds the accused guilty, such City Council may dismiss from the service the member of the Fire Department so found guilty or may inflict such other penalty or punishment as in its judgment is adequate and fair. (c) Any officer or other member of the Fire Department guilty of conduct unbecoming such officer or member, or who shall refuse or wilfully neglect to obey or execute any orders of a superior officer at any fire, or who shall violate or wilfully neglect cr refuse to be governed by any of the rules or regulations of the Section 25. Ido member shall be under the influence of intoxicating liquors, beverages, drug or compounds while on duty, nor shall any of same be kept in stations. Section 26. Visitors shall be politely escorted through quarters and proper explanations made, but habitual lounging or visiting in or about quarters shall not be allowed, nor shall children be allowed to enter qugrters, under any circumstances, unless accompanied by an adult. Female visitors shall not be allowed around quarters after 8;00 P.IJ. Section 27. Persons not connected with the Fire Department shall not be permitted toiride on the vehicular apparatus. Section 28. Members of the Department are pro- hibited from using the telephone in service therein for any other purpose than business connected with the department. One telephone shall be reserved for fire calls only and shall be used only for such or, in extreme cases, fdr other emergencies. Section 29 (a) Complete records shall be kept of the attendance of every member of the Fire Department at fires, drills, schools and meetings. i (b) Complete minutes of all meetings of the Fire Department shall be kept under the direction of the Chief. Said minutes shall fully and completely set forth every action and vote of the Fire Department on every subject on which action or vote is taken.' Section 30 (a) Any member of the Depaitmant shall be removable by the City Council of the City of Azusa for just cause after trial before the City Council, which council may act by vote of the majority of the councilmen voting at any regular meeting, or at any special meeting called for the purpose of considering charges against said member of the Fire Department, a quorum of the Council being present. (b) The City Council shall constitute a trial board for the purpose of considering, hearing, trying and determining any charges made against any member of the Fire Department. If such City Council by a majority vote of those councilmen voting, a quorum being present, at a regular meeting, or at a special meeting called for the purpose of considering any such charge, finds the accused guilty, such City Council may dismiss from the service the member of the Fire Department so found guilty or may inflict such other penalty or punishment as in its judgment is adequate and fair. (c) Any officer or other member of the Fire Department guilty of conduct unbecoming such officer or member, or who shall refuse or wilfully neglect to obey or execute any orders of a superior officer at any fire, or who shall violate or wilfully neglect cr refuse to be governed by any of the rules or regulations of the Department, including the rules set forth in this Ordinance and such other rules or regulations as may be hereafter adopted or put in force whether by ordinance or otherwise, shall be subject to fine or suspension or expulsion from the Department by the Chief or by the City Council. (d) Any member of the Department fined, suspended or expelled by the Chief shall have the right to appeal to the City Council and show cause as to why such penalty should be waived, modified or lifted. Such appeal to said City Council must be made at not later than the second regular meeting of the City Council immediately following the date of the infliction of the penalty appealed from. Then or thereafter the City Council may hear such appeal at.any regular meeting, or at a special meeting called for the purpose of considering such appeal. =he penalty in- flicted by the Chief shall stand unless the appeal be sustained and such penalty waived, modified or lifted, by a majority vote of those councilmen voting at such meeting, a quorum being present. (e) In all trials before the City Council under this section, the Council shall afford a reasonable opportunity to the accused to present evidence and be heard in his defense, and to the then executive head of the Fire Department to present evidence and be heard in support of the principles and standards of the Department. Section 31. The compensation of the officers and men until further order of Council by ordinance or resolution shall be as follows: Chief . . . . . . . . Assistant Chief . . . . . . . .25.00 per month . . . 3.00 per fire responded Firemen regularly designated by the Chief as Night Watch or Night Sleepers at the Station Captains All other firemen . 3.00 . . . . . . 3.00 . . . . . . . 2.50 then otherwise employed by the when, after working, hours, in service at fires as regularly pointed firemen . . . . . . . City, ap_ per fire responded per fire responded pea` fire responded . 2.50 per fire to to to to Section 32. All ordinances and parts of ordinances heretofore passed and adopted by the City of Azusa or by the City Council or any Board of Trustees thereof, shall be, and the same are hereby repealed insofar only as said ordinances or parts of ordinances con- flict or are inconsistent with the provisions of this ordinance, which said repeal of said ordinances, or parts thereof, insofar only as same conflict or are inconsistent with the provisions of this ordinance, shall be effective as of the effective date of this ordinance. Section 33. The Mayor shall sign this Ordinance and the City Clerk shall attest and certify to the passage, adoption and publication of the same, and shall cause the same to be published once, within fifteen days after its passage, in the Azusa Herald and Pomotropic, a weekly newspaper of general cir- culation published and circulated in the City of Azusa, which said newspaper is hereby designated for that purpose, and thereupon and thereafter thirty days after its passage this Ordinance shall take effect and be in force. _Ro,Y C. Arnold, Mayor of the City of Azusa. Passed, adopted and approved is _ — day of 1938. ATTEST; Mae A. Hynes City Clerk of th6 City of Azusa. I STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) ) SS COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) I hereby certify that the foregoing ordinance was introduced and placed upon its first reading at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Azusa, County of Los Angeles, State of California, duly and regularly held on the 21st day of November,1938, in the regular Council Chambers in said City of Azusa, Los Angeles County, California; that said Ordinance was regularly passed and adopted by said City Council, signed by the Mayor and attested by the City Clerk of said City at a regular meeting of said Council so held in the regular Council Chambers on the 19th day of December, 1938, and that the same was passed and adopted by the following vote of the Council: Ayes : Councilmen: Noes : Councilmen Absent : Councilmen hprl� I, City Clerk of the City of Azusa, Los Angeles County, State of California, do further certify that I caused said Ordinance to be published on the 22d day of December 1938, in the Azusa Herald and Pomotropic, a newspaper of general circulation, printed, published and circulated in said City of Azusa, and that the same was published in accordance with law. M- y n � HJ City C e— r s�- of the City of Azusa.