[Adopted 9-14-1987 by Ord. No. 1425]
There is hereby established the sole set of
regulations governing the operation of the Fire Department of the
Borough of Hasbrouck Heights.
[Amended 5-28-1991 by Ord. No. 1586; 10-23-2018 by Ord. No. 2415
The Fire Department in and for the Borough of Hasbrouck Heights
shall consist of the Fire Commissioner or, in his absence, the Deputy
Fire Commissioner and the following membership after election by the
Department and confirmation by the Mayor and Council:
[Added 5-28-1991 by Ord. No. 1586]
The Fire Department shall be further composed
of a Rescue Squad and an Ambulance Squad, as follows:
A.
Rescue Squad. The Rescue Squad shall consist of 15
members, five of whom shall be from each of the respective companies.
If a vacancy shall exist, the Captain of the company from which the
opening is to be filled shall, upon recommendations of said company,
propose a member of the company to the Rescue Squad. The rule of five
members from each company may be waived if a shortage of manpower
exists and vacancies cannot be filled accordingly. Annually, a Captain,
Lieutenant and a Secretary shall be elected by and from the membership
of the Squad.
B.
Ambulance Squad. The Ambulance Squad shall be comprised
of all active members of the Department. It will be aided and assisted
by all ambulance auxiliary members as provided by ordinances. Annually,
a Captain, Lieutenant and Secretary shall be elected by and from the
membership of the Squad or from the membership of the Volunteer Auxiliary
Ambulance Squad.
[Amended 11-26-1991 by Ord. No. 1607]
[Added 7-9-2002 by Ord. No. 1970]
The Fire Department shall be further composed of a Junior Ambulance and Firefighters Squad, all as is more particularly provided for in Article VII hereof
[Amended 2-9-2010 by Ord. No. 2223]
The Chief or, in his absence, the First Assistance
Chief or, in the absence of both of them, the Second Assistant Chief
shall at all times be the head of the Department, subject to the direction
of the Fire Committee which shall be composed of the Mayor, the Fire
Commissioner, the Deputy Fire Commissioner, the Chief of the Department
and the two Assistant Chiefs of the Department.
The members of the respective companies, at
their annual meeting on the second Monday in November of each and
every year or as may be otherwise ordered by the Mayor and Council,
shall elect, in a manner provided herein, a Chief, a First Assistant
Chief and a Second Assistant Chief of the Department, each of whom
shall hold office until his successor in office has been elected,
taken the required oath and entered upon his duties. Such election
shall be reported to the Mayor and Council at its first regular meeting
following the election and shall not be effective until confirmed
by it. In no event shall the election result in the Chief and Assistant
Chief of the Department being members of the same company.
[Amended 5-28-1991 by Ord. No. 1586]
The members of Hook and Ladder Company No. 1,
Engine Company No. 2 and Engine Company No. 1 shall in the same manner
select and elect, in the manner herein provided, company officers,
who likewise shall hold office until their successors in office have
been selected, taken the required oath and entered upon their duties.
The election of company officers shall take place on the second Monday
in November of each and every year or such other time as the Mayor
and Council may direct.
The members of the companies, as well as the
Department as a whole, may elect such other and further officers as
the case requires, upon consent of the Mayor and Council.
[Added 8-14-2001 by Ord. No. 1945]
There is hereby established the position of LOSAP Officer, whose duty it shall be to compile the qualifications and to calculate the credits of any member of this Department or of the Volunteer Auxiliary Ambulance Squad in accordance with Chapter 40 of the Code and to certify that information to the Chief Financial Officer of the Borough when called upon to do the same.
A.
The Fire Chief or, in his absence, the First Assistant
Fire Chief or, in the absence of both of them, the Second Assistant
Chief shall be the chief executive officer of the Department.
B.
He shall obey and shall cause the Fire Department
under him to obey the rules and regulations of the Department, the
direction of the Fire Committee, the ordinances of the Borough and
the laws of the State. He shall be held responsible for the efficiency,
general conduct and good order of the Department and shall promptly
report to the Fire Committee each and every case of dereliction of
duty coming in any way to his knowledge and also complaints made to
him against the Department or the officers or members thereof.
[Amended 2-9-2010 by Ord. No. 2223]
C.
He shall be responsible to the Mayor and Council for
the annual submission of the budget proposal and the approval of all
purchase orders pursuant thereto.
D.
The Chief of the Fire Department shall repair to the
scene of a fire and answer every alarm turned in and take charge of
the firemen present and use every endeavor to extinguish flames and
save property from the results of conflagration. In the absence of
the Chief of the Department, the First Assistant Chief or, in the
absence of both of them, the Second Assistant Chief shall assume full
power and lawful authority over the members of the Department in the
same manner that the Chief would have power to do were he present
and shall accept the same responsibilities as imposed upon the Chief.
The Chief of the Fire Department shall keep
in his office a book in which shall be entered the names and residences
of each fireman and shall further keep a record of the minutes of
meetings of the Fire Department and the branches thereof. He shall
also keep a register listing all calls and state therein the nature
of the call, the estimated damage done, if any, and such other further
data he considers necessary to give a detailed and complete record
of such event. The Chief, however, may, with the consent of the Mayor
and Council, delegate the keeping of these books to some members or
officer specially designated for the purpose.
[Amended 5-28-1991 by Ord. No. 1585; 5-24-1994 by Ord. No.
1677; 8-10-1994 by Ord. No. 16847-13-1999 by Ord. No. 1867; 9-12-2006 by Ord. No. 2140; 10-23-2018 by Ord. No. 2415]
A.
Applications for membership in the Fire Department shall be received
from:
(1)
Any person found to be of good moral character after a search of
all available police records; and
(2)
Which person is between the ages of 18 years and 45 years or, if such person previously served in any Fire Department of the State of New Jersey and voluntarily terminated such prior service while in good standing, between the ages of 18 years and 75 years but subject nevertheless to the requirements of medical certification as required in Subsection D hereof, if applicable; and
(3)
Which person is a resident and domiciliary of this Borough or within
a radius of three miles of the boundaries of this Borough.
B.
Such application may be either accepted or rejected, but in every
case where the application is voted upon there shall be required vote
in accordance with the duly approved bylaws of the Department.
C.
Any applicant who has been rejected by the Department voting upon
his application may appeal to the Mayor and Council within 30 days
after such rejection, in which appeal he shall be required to state
fully the grounds upon which he believes his application has been
unfairly denied and such other facts as may be proper and pertinent
to the issue. The Council shall decide whether or not the applicant
shall be admitted to membership, and the decision shall be final.
D.
The membership of any active fireman who has attained the age of
65 years or older shall terminate automatically without formal action
by either the Department or the Mayor and Council unless he or she
shall, upon his or her 65th birthday and thereafter upon his or her
68th, 70th, 71st, 72nd, 73rd and 74th birthdays, obtain from the official
Borough Physician and deliver to the Mayor and Council a certificate
that he or she shall be of such good health to be able to continue
his or her service as an active fireman; the membership of any such
fireman shall continue until he or she fails to obtain and deliver
the aforesaid certification or until his or her 75th birthday, whichever
is sooner, whereupon such active membership shall terminate without
formal action by either the Department or the Mayor and Council. The
Borough shall pay the reasonable cost of the examining physician incurred
in connection herewith.
The several companies may establish, with the
approval of the Mayor and Council, rules, regulations and bylaws governing
themselves, but such rules, regulations or bylaws shall not be inconsistent
with this article or the rules and regulations of the Fire Commissioner
or, should there be one, the Fire Committee. No rule, regulation or
bylaw shall be suspended, amended or promulgated without the consent
of the Fire Commissioner or, should there be one, the Fire Committee.
[Amended 10-23-2018 by Ord. No. 2415]
The election of the officers in the Department shall be held
conducted in accordance with the duly approved bylaws of the Department
and shall be conducted by the Fire Commissioner or the Deputy Fire
Commissioner, who shall be present during the time the polls are open
and who shall certify the results to the Mayor and Council. The Fire
Commissioner shall submit to the Mayor and Council his certification
of the results of the election, including a report of the election,
together with the ballots cast. The Mayor and Council shall either
confirm or reject the election of any or all of the names of the persons
elected, but in case of a rejection, the Council may either order
another election or appoint a person to fill such office until his
successor is elected. Special elections may be called as required
by the Mayor and Council but shall be called only on five days'
written notice, addressed and mailed to the last known address of
each member. Notices of regular Department or squad elections shall
be made by posting at fire headquarters not less than 10 days before
the date and time of such election.
All Department and company officers shall hold
office for a term commencing at 12:00 noon January 1 following the
regular election or commencing immediately upon qualification following
a special election and until their successors in office shall have
been qualified.
A.
For the purpose of this section of the article, "active
duty" shall be defined as duty immediately upon the departure of the
apparatus from headquarters and until the return of all apparatus.
B.
The conduct of the Department while on active duty
shall be governed as follows: The Chief shall be in command during
all such active duty; in the absence of the Chief, the First Assistant
Chief or, in his absence, the Second Assistant Chief shall assume
the duties of the Chief. In the absence of any of the Chiefs, the
first officer arriving at active duty shall have charge until the
arrival of one of the Chiefs.
C.
It shall be the further duty of the head of any company
to have charge of his respective company and apparatus at fires, always
under the direction of the Chief or other executive officer during
active duty, and to see that his apparatus and quarters shall always
be kept in good, clean and respectable condition.
The Mayor shall appoint the mechanics of the
Department upon the recommendation of the Chief and subject to confirmation
by the Council. The mechanics of the Department shall be responsible
to the Fire Chief for the mechanical efficiency of the apparatus and
mechanical equipment. Each mechanic shall certify to the Chief the
names of the members of the Department who are qualified to drive
the respective apparatus of which that mechanic is in charge, and
no person, unless he shall have been so certified, shall drive such
apparatus; provided, however, that, in case of necessity, any of the
Chiefs may designate, in the absence of a certified driver, any other
member of the Department or a citizen.
It shall be required of the company head to
make a report to the Chief of all services rendered by his company
in response to an alarm, and he shall record the names of members
responding to roll call upon arrival at headquarters.
Any charges against members of the Department
for infraction of the rules of the Department, of this article or
of the rules and regulations of the Fire Commissioner, the Fire Committee
or the Mayor and Council which cannot be resolved internally by the
Department under its bylaws shall be referred to the Mayor and Council,
which shall, as speedily as possible, proceed to investigate the charges.
The Mayor and Council shall thereupon cause a notice, in writing,
to be served upon the member against whom the charges are preferred
to appear before the Mayor and Council, at a time and place to be
specified therein, to answer said charges. After hearing the member
or his attorney in his behalf, or in case he fails to appear, the
Mayor and Council may, by resolution, reprimand, suspend, fine or
dismiss said officer or member from the Department or exonerate him
from the charges.
All rules and regulations of the Chiefs, the
Fire Commissioner, the Fire Committee or the Mayor and Council and
the rules and regulations of the respective companies shall not become
effective until five days after the same shall have been posted at
fire headquarters, and such rules and regulations shall remain posted
for a period of not less than six months.
The Fire Department year shall commence on the
first day of December in each and every year, and it shall be required
of the Fire Commissioner to make a full and detailed report of the
events of the year to the Mayor and Council at the first regular Council
meeting in December, making such recommendations as he, in his experience,
has found to be of benefit to public interests.
The Mayor shall appoint the Fire Alarm Inspectors
upon the recommendation of the Chief and subject to Council confirmation.
They shall be responsible for the efficiency and good working order
of the electrical fire-alarm system and, at the end of each year,
shall make a written report to the Mayor and Council.
[Amended 11-9-1999 by Ord. No. 1876]
A.
Gratuities to the members of the Department who have
performed a fixed, requisite percentage of fire duty, including duties
assigned in addition to attendance at fires, at such rate as the Council
may by resolution direct, shall be paid to the Department not later
than the 15th day of December of each and every year.
B.
The aforesaid gratuities to the members of the Department
shall be paid by the proper Borough officers to each of the several
companies to which said members shall belong, to be disbursed by said
companies to the members of the Department less any proper deductions
therefrom for any amount which may be due to the company for fines
or otherwise by the respective members.
C.
The compensation of the Chiefs, mechanics and Fire
Prevention Inspectors shall be for actual services rendered over and
above their general duties as members of the Department at a rate
to be fixed by the Salary Ordinance.
