[Ord. No. 657 §10-17, 7-7-1986]
The Fire Chief shall enroll, organize and maintain a Fire Department
consisting of the Fire Chief, Assistant Chief, Lieutenant, Captain
and such number of members, paid and/or volunteer, as provided by
the City Council from time to time.
[CC 1983 §10-18]
The duties of the Fire Department shall be to respond to the
fire alarm and follow the directions of the Chief or his/her designee.
[CC 1983 §10-19]
Compensation of the personnel of the Fire Department shall be
set by the Council from time to time by ordinance, resolution or motion.
[CC 1983 §10-20]
The hose or other property belonging to the City Fire Department
shall not be hired or loaned to any person, except in cases of disaster,
approved by the Mayor.
[CC 1983 §10-21]
Whosoever shall, in any manner, willfully injure, deface or
destroy any engine, hose carriage or reel, hose or any other fire
apparatus or property belonging to the Fire Department shall be deemed
guilty of a misdemeanor.
[CC 1983 §10-22]
Any person other than the members of the City Fire Department
who shall ride on any fire truck belonging to the City Fire Department
at a time when the truck is going to or from a fire or when the truck
is out for the practice of the members shall be deemed guilty of a
misdemeanor.
[CC 1983 §10-34]
Whenever there shall be a vacancy in the position of Fire Chief,
it shall be the duty of the Mayor, with the approval of the Council,
to appoint some suitable and competent person to the office of Fire
Chief who may be suspended or discharged from his/her office at any
time by the Mayor, with the approval of a majority of the elected
Council.
[CC 1983 §10-35]
No person shall be appointed to the office of Fire Chief who
is not a citizen of the United States, a man of good moral character
and a resident of the City. In addition to the foregoing qualifications,
he/she must be a trained fireman or be experienced in the use of fire
apparatus and agencies employed by the City in the suppression of
fires.
[CC 1983 §10-36]
The Fire Chief shall have command of the Fire Department of
the City and shall exercise general supervision over the same, taking
care that each member of the Fire Department is properly trained and
drilled in the manner of discharging the duties that may be assigned
to him/her. He/she shall make, or cause to be made, frequent inspections
of all fire hydrants within the City and see that they are at all
times in good repair and ready for use. He/she shall in like manner
inspect all fire apparatus used by the City to ensure that the same
are carefully preserved and kept in good condition for use in fire
stations and of all property of the City under control of the Fire
Department and shall take care that such property is always kept in
good condition and repair and ready for immediate use. He/she shall
attend all fires in the City as far as practicable and all orders
given by him/her to the Fire Department or any member thereof, shall
be promptly obeyed by such company or member. He/she may order the
removal of any building, erection or fence for the purpose of checking
the progress of any fire, and, with the advice and consent of the
Mayor shall have the power to destroy or have destroyed any building
or erection for the purpose of extinguishing or checking a fire.
[Ord. No. 2008-12 §1, 7-21-2008]
A.
Each
member of the Caruthersville Fire Department shall keep and maintain
the financial responsibility which conforms to the requirements of
the laws of this State on each and every motor vehicle utilized to
respond to fire alarm calls. Furthermore, no member of the Caruthersville
Fire Department shall operate a motor vehicle owned by another while
responding to a fire alarm call unless such member has knowledge that
the owner currently maintains financial responsibility unless such
member has financial responsibility which covers the person's operation
of the other's motor vehicle.
B.
It
shall be the affirmative duty of each member of the Caruthersville
Fire Department to keep and maintain on file with the Fire Chief of
the City of Caruthersville current proof that such member has met
the financial responsibility requirements of the Section with respect
to each and every motor vehicle utilized by such member to respond
to fire alarm calls.
D.
The definitions of terms contained in Section 382.020 of the Code of Ordinances of the City shall apply to this Section.
E.
Members
of the Fire Department shall include all full- or part-time employees
of the City assigned to the Caruthersville Fire Department and all
volunteer firefighters appointed to the Caruthersville Fire Department.
[CC 1983 §10-3; Ord. No. 569 §§1 — 2,
9-18-1978; Ord. No. 748 §§1 — 2, 8-16-1993;
Ord. No. 890 §1, 8-20-2001; Ord. No. 2009-2 §1, 2-17-2009; Ord. No. 2013-02 §1, 2-19-2013;[1] Ord. No. 2023-06, 8-7-2023]
A.
There is hereby established a system for persons owning property
located outside the City limits of Caruthersville within the City's
area of fire protection service to subscribe for fire protection services
to be provided by the Fire Department of the City of Caruthersville.
The service shall be provided upon the following terms and conditions:
1.
The subscription fee for fire protection services shall be one
hundred dollars ($100.00) annually which shall cover the period from
July 1 to June 30 of each year. Such fee shall be paid in advance
each year. Persons who wish to participate in the subscription service
shall apply for a subscription at the Caruthersville Fire Department
on forms provided for such subscription. Following initial registration
of a subscription, the Caruthersville Fire Chief or designee shall
send a bill to each current subscriber in May or June of each year
for the subscription fee for the next subscription period. Subscription
fees are due on or before July 1 of each year. In the event the fee
is not paid by July 1, the subscription shall be canceled. New subscriptions
shall be prorated for the number of months (either whole or partial)
remaining in the year.
2.
The Caruthersville Fire Chief or designee shall keep and maintain
a current registry of all active subscribers for fire protection services
hereunder.
3.
The subscription provided for herein shall apply to all property
owned by the subscriber located within the area of service of the
Caruthersville Fire Department.
4.
Tenants of rental property shall be required to maintain their
own subscriptions and may not rely on the subscription of the landlord.
All tenants of rental property who do not maintain their own subscription
shall be charged for an out-of-City fire or emergency call to the
rental property even if their landlord has a subscription that protects
his, her or its interests.
5.
No out-of-City fire fees shall be charged to any individual
who has an active, fully paid subscription in good standing at the
time of the fire call.
B.
Mitigation
Fees For Out-Of-Town Fire Calls.
1.
The City of Caruthersville hereby establishes and directs its
Fire Department to implement the imposition of mitigation fees for
the delivery of emergency and non-emergency services by the Fire Department
for personnel, supplies and equipment to the scene of emergency and
non-emergency incidents at the mitigation rates set forth in Schedule
205-A[2] adopted herein. The mitigation rates established hereby
are based upon costs of the services, including those which are usual,
customary and reasonable (UCR). The mitigation fees imposed by the
Fire Department pursuant to this Section shall be the obligation of
all responsible parties. The mitigation fees established hereby shall
not apply to any response within the City or to those properties outside
of the City that are covered by the City's rural subscription
service.
[2]
Editor’s Note: Schedule 205-A is included as an attachment
to this Chapter.
2.
For the purposes of this Chapter, the term "responsible parties"
shall mean each and every landowner and tenant of real property to
which response is made and each and every owner or lessee of personal
property, including motor vehicles, to which response is made. Each
responsible party for an incident response shall have joint and several
liability for the fees imposed hereby.
3.
Schedule 205-A attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference is hereby adopted and the mitigation rates set forth therein are hereby established for the determination of the mitigation fees to be charged for incident responses subject to this Section. Said Schedule 205-A shall be codified by its insertion into the City Code as an addendum to Chapter 205.
4.
The mitigation rates set forth in Schedule 205-A will increase
by based on the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index
(CPI), as developed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S.
Department of Labor. Rate adjustments will occur on July 1 of each
year to keep the Fire Department's cost recovery program in conformity
with increasing operating expenses.
5.
A claim for such mitigation fees shall be filed with and to
the responsible party or parties through their insurance carrier and/or
shall be billed directly to the responsible party or parties in the
amount determined by the application of the rates set forth in Schedule
205-A to the equipment, manpower and services for such incident.
C.
Exceptions. No out-of-City response fee shall be charged to:
1.
Any municipal Fire Department with which the City has a mutual
aid agreement;
2.
The State of Missouri or Pemiscot County for grass or other
fires on their property or rights-of-way;
3.
The St. Francis Levee District of Missouri for fires on its
rights-of-way;
4.
Any other political subdivision of the State of Missouri for
which the City Council shall provide a waiver of the fee based upon
mutual assistance.
D.
If payment of mitigation fees imposed pursuant to this Section is
not made by a responsible party, the City of Caruthersville shall
have a cause of action against such responsible party and the costs
of collection, including attorney's fees, shall be added to the
mitigation fees established above.
[1]
Editor's Note: Section 3 of this ordinance provided as follows:
"The subscription service provided for herein shall be established
effective as of July 1, 2013. Subscription applications may be submitted
to the City any time after the passage of this ordinance. Any subscription
fee paid with an application shall be applied to the subscription
period from July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014. All other portions of this
ordinance, including the fees for rural emergency calls shall be effective
immediately upon its passage and approval."
[Code 1961 §9.15; CC 1983 §10-4; Ord. No. 822 §1, 3-16-1998]
A.
No
person shall willfully give, sound or make any false fire alarms.
C.
Every
person who has a fire alarm system protecting their property shall
keep such alarm system in a good state of repair so as to prevent
false fire alarms. Each such person shall be granted two (2) false
fire alarms in each calendar year without reimbursing the City for
such false fire alarms. For each subsequent false fire alarm in that
calendar year, the person whose property is protected by the fire
alarm system shall reimburse the City the amount of two hundred dollars
($200.00).
[Code 1961 §9.18; CC 1983 §10-5]
Every person who shall be present at any fire shall be subject
to and obedient to the orders of the Chief of the Fire Department
and his/her assistants in extinguishing such fire and the removal
and protection of property.
[Ord. No. 2009-3 §1, 2-17-2009]
A.
The
Fire Chief, on behalf of the City of Caruthersville, is hereby authorized
and directed to participate in the State of Missouri's Hazardous Substances
Emergency Response Cost Recovery Program in accordance with Sections
260.500 to 260.550, RSMo.
B.
The
Fire Chief is directed to provide an itemized statement for all eligible
costs to all responsible parties within sixty (60) days from the date
of the response to any hazardous substances emergency situation. Such
statement shall be submitted in compliance with guidelines established
by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
