AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING THE DUTIES AND RESPONSIBLITIES OF THE VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT, FIRST RESPONDERS
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BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN OF THE CITY OF RICH HILL AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1 – Appointments
a. The Mayor, with the consent of the Board of Aldermen, shall appoint the Fire Chief.
b. The Fire Chief with the approval of the Mayor shall appoint the Assistant Fire Chief and the First Responder Coordinator.
c. A vacancy in the office of the Fire Chief shall be temporarily filled by the next in command who shall perform the duties of the Fire Chief, with all the rights, privileges, powers and jurisdiction of the Fire Chief until the Fire Chief’s return, or in the case of death, resignation, removal from office or any other cause whatever, until the Mayor, with the consent of the Board of Aldermen, appoints a new Fire Chief.
d. The Appointee shall live or work within the City’s Rural Fire Protection area unless prior consent has been obtained from the Mayor or Board of Alderman.
SECTION 2– Fire Chief and Volunteer Fireman Qualifications
All volunteers shall:
a. Be at least 18 years of age or older;
b. Have a valid driver’s license to operate fire department vehicles and maintain a current copy of such with the City Clerk;
c. Provide proof of liability insurance coverage on the personal vehicle(s) used in the performance of the duties and responsibilities as a fireman;
d. Live or work within the City’s Rural Fire Protection area unless prior consent has been obtained from the Mayor, Board of Alderman or Fire Chief.
SECTION 3 -Volunteer First Responder Qualifications
All volunteers shall:
a. Be at least 18 years of age or older;
b. Have a valid driver’s license and maintain a current copy of such with the City Clerk;
c. Provide proof of liability insurance coverage on the personal vehicle(s) used in the performance of the duties and responsibilities as a First Responder;
d. Be certified with proof of annual certification provided to the City Clerk;
e. Be certified to use any equipment with proof of certification provided to the City Clerk;
f. If EMT licensed, a copy of the license shall be submitted to the City Clerk and again each time the license is renewed;
g. Live or work within the City’s Rural Fire Protection area unless prior consent has been obtained from the Mayor, Board of Alderman, Fire Chief or First Responder Coordinator.
SECTION 4 – Compensation for Fire Chief, Volunteer Fireman and First Responders
a. The Fire Chief shall be paid $200.00 per month.
b. The Fire Chief and all volunteers shall be covered by the City’s workers’ compensation insurance.
c. Volunteer Firemen and First Responders shall be paid each month $5.00 per call and $5.00 per meeting/training session as long as they attend 1 meeting/training session and 1 call per month. The maximum payment shall be $50.00 per month.
d. Definitions
Meeting/training session – Attendance from start to finish of the meeting or training session (usually 7 p.m.to 9 p.m.) unless the absence is pre-approved by the Fire Chief.
Call – Attendance from start to finish of a call, or on stand-by for the call at the station until personnel is back in quarters or unless released by incident command officer on the call.
e. Requests for call/training reimbursement shall be submitted to the City Clerk no later than the15th day past the end of the month in which the call/training was accrued or the call/training reimbursement will be forfeited. The request shall be accompanied by written documentation of attendance and
SECTION 5 – Duties and Responsibilities of the Fire Chief
The Fire Chief shall:
a. Oversee all volunteers, the Assistant Fire Chief and First Responder Coordinator;
b. Report directly to the Mayor and Board of Aldermen;
c. Oversee the use and care of equipment;
d. Maintain equipment in constant state of readiness and arrange for the immediate repair or replacement upon discovery of defective equipment;
e. Maintain a running inventory of all equipment;
f. Provide the Mayor with monthly activity reports;
g. Report any changes in personnel, any changes in the condition of existing equipment and any purchase of new equipment for insurance purposes;
h. Provide the Board of Aldermen a list of all volunteers and the equipment issued to each of them. All equipment shall be owned by the City. All personal equipment shall be assigned by the Fire Chief and signed out by the City Clerk;
i. Order a temporary outdoor burning ban on the City whenever it is deemed in the best interest of the citizens of the City that open fire be prohibited. The temporary outdoor burning ban shall remain in effect until released by the Fire Chief;
j. Prepare a budget and submit it to the City Clerk no later than March 1 of each calendar year. The budget shall be subject to the approval of the Board of Aldermen;
k. Complete all fire and medical reports and turn them into the City Clerk;
l. Report immediately to the Mayor any suspension or revocation of his or her driver’s license or cancellation of personal vehicle insurance;
m. Issue a written 10-day notice to any Fireman and First Responders whose driver’s license, auto insurance or certification license has expired. If a Fireman or First Responder fails to submit documentation of reinstatement of the license or insurance within 10 days, the Fireman or First Responder shall be removed from roster of active personnel;
n. Administer a driving test with a checklist for each Fireman and First Responder within 30 days of their addition to the roster. Firemen or First Responders shall not operate fire or first responder vehicles until they have passed the test.
SECTION 6 – General Rules for Volunteer Firemen and First Responders
a. All volunteers shall attend the monthly training meetings at the fire station.
b. The Chief and Assistant Chief shall carry radios. Any other use of radios by Firemen shall be at the discretion of the Fire Chief. Any misuse of radios shall cause retrieval of radio and a 30-day suspension.
c. All volunteers using a blue light shall follow Missouri State Statues and shall be issued a permit by the Fire Chief upon inspection and before such equipment is operated in an emergency situation.
d. The Assistant Fire Chief shall report directly to the Fire Chief.
e. All volunteers shall report immediately to the Fire Chief and Mayor any suspension or revocation of drivers license or cancellation of personal vehicle insurance.
f. First Responders follow the protocol agreed to by the Fire Chief and any emergency medical providers.
g. First Responders shall only respond to medical calls per the approved protocol.
h. Only First Responders that have a valid EMT license on file with the City Clerk shall ride in the ambulance from the scene.
i. The Fire Department shall have 17 volunteers and the Fire Chief.
j. First Responders shall have 17volunteers.
k. A volunteer who is both a Fireman and a First Responder shall be counted both as a Fireman and a First Responder.
SECTION 7 – Billing
a. There shall be a charge for fire calls for anyone in one or more of the following categories:
- Is not a citizen of Rich Hill
- Has not paid the yearly rural fire protection membership fee
- Lives outside of the Rural Fire Protection Area
- Is a citizen of Rich Hill and owns property in the Rural Fire Protection Area, but has not paid the yearly membership fee.
b. The Fire Department shall bill $250.00 per hour or portion thereof for all fire calls in the above categories.
ALL ORDINANCES OR PARTS OF ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT WITH THIS ORDINANCE ARE HEREBY REPEALED.
This Ordinance shall be in force from and after its passage and approval.[i]
First reading: April 11, 2017
Second reading: April 11, 2017
APPROVED THIS 11th DAY OF APRIL 2017
Attest:
__________________________ ___________________________
Jennifer Perkey-Ewing Brittany Schenker
Mayor City Clerk
Ayes: Humble, Pilcher, Rich, Robb Nays:
[i] For informational purposes, this Ordinance deleted Section 7 Burn Permit Restrictions, Section 8 Rule Fire Protection, and Section 10 Fire Lane/Fire Department Access Road from Ordinance No. 1504, enacted June 9, 2015.
For informational purposes, this Ordinance No. replaces the following: Ordinance No. 1504, enacted June 9, 2015; Ordinance No. 1389, enacted November 13, 2012; Ordinance 1385, enacted August 14, 2012; Ordinance No. 1344, enacted September 22, 2009; Ordinance No. 1299, enacted November 27, 2007; Ordinance No. 1265, enacted June 27, 2006; Ordinance No. 1211, enacted May 25, 2004; Ordinance No. 1191, enacted September 9, 2003; Ordinance No. 1187, enacted June 10, 2003; Ordinance No. 1136, enacted October 23, 2001; and Ordinance No. 1110, enacted September 12, 2000.