[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council
of the Borough of Catasauqua 8-6-2001 by Ord. No. 1124 (Ch. VI, Part 2A, of
the 1962 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Members of the Catasauqua Fire Department who have at least
one year of training by the Fire Department, including on-job training,
and who, in the opinion of the Fire Chief, have qualified to fight
fires and perform other emergency services normally associated with
a fire department. In addition to the above, active fire fighters
must have completed their Pennsylvania Fire Academy "Essentials of
Fire Fighting" program.
The Borough Manager of the Borough of Catasauqua.
The Chief of Police of the Borough of Catasauqua.
Any fire company in existence at the time of the passage
of this chapter or, in the event of the establishment of a centralized
fire station, those companies designated by the Fire Chief.
Council of the Borough of Catasauqua.
The Fire Chief of the Borough of Catasauqua.
The Borough of Catasauqua Fire Department.
Duly appointed members of the Catasauqua Fire Police.
Any qualified active fire fighter duly appointed or elected
as an officer of the Catasauqua Fire Department.
The Catasauqua Fire Department Recommended Operating Procedures.
A.
The Catasauqua Fire Department shall be composed of
the active fire fighters of the following fire and rescue companies:
the East End Hose and Chemical Company No. 1; the Southwark Hose Company
No. 9; the Phoenix Fire Company No. 1; and the Catasauqua Rescue Squad.
B.
The Borough may, at any time, however, by the amendment
of this chapter change the composition of the Catasauqua Fire Department
by recognizing the active fire fighters of one or more additional
fire companies located either within or outside of the Borough as
members of the Fire Department or by removing any fire company from
the list of those comprising the Fire Department.
C.
In the event that the Borough should establish a centralized
fire station, the names of all the above-mentioned fire companies
shall be dissolved and the apparatus of each company shall be numbered
by the Fire Chief according to the unit numbers assigned by the Lehigh
County Communications Center.
The function of the active members of the Catasauqua
Fire Department shall be as follows:
A.
To answer any type of fire alarm or call whether it
be a general alarm, private call, investigation of a reported fire
or any emergency call of any type within the limits of the Borough
of Catasauqua or outside of the limits as provided by mutual aid agreement,
service agreements or other agreements executed by Borough Council.
B.
To engage in any type of drill, training, ceremony,
practice tests, parades or other duty when duly called or authorized
by the Fire Chief or, in his absence, a duly appointed designee.
The chief executive officer of the Catasauqua
Fire Department shall be the Fire Chief who shall be appointed yearly
by and serve at the pleasure of Borough Council. In case of a vacancy
in the office of Fire Chief, Borough Council shall appoint an Acting
Fire Chief until another Fire Chief can be selected. The Fire Chief
shall receive such compensation as Borough Council may establish from
time to time.
A.
Powers and duties of the Fire Chief. The powers and
duties of the Fire Chief shall be as follows:
(1)
The Chief shall attend all fires and alarms answered
by the Catasauqua Fire Department and supervise and direct the operations
of the companies belonging to the Fire Department except in any case
where the Chief shall be absent from the Borough for legitimate reasons.
In the event that the Chief shall be absent from the Borough, the
Chief shall notify the Assistant Chief who shall serve as Acting Fire
Chief and shall perform all the duties and exercise all of the authority
vested with the Fire Chief. In the event of the absence of the Fire
Chief and the Assistant Chief, the Deputy Chief shall serve as Acting
Fire Chief. In the event of the absence of the Fire Chief, Assistant
Chief or Deputy Chief, the first Captain to arrive at the scene of
a fire or emergency call will serve as the Acting Fire Chief.
(2)
The Chief shall assign the duties of the Assistant
Chief to Training Officer, Communications Officer and Quartermaster;
the duties of the Deputy Chief to Safety Officer, Fire Prevention
Officer and Personnel Officer.
(3)
The Chief shall have full authority over all of the
active fire fighters, all apparatus belonging to the Catasauqua Fire
Department and shall issue and enforce such orders which, in the Chief's
judgment, are necessary for the protection of lives and property.
(4)
The Chief shall enforce all of the rules and regulations
of the Fire Department and all orders pertaining thereto.
(5)
The Chief shall annually, in the month of January,
submit a full report of the activities of the Fire Department to Borough
Council for the preceding year which shall include a list of all fires
within and outside the Borough, the costs of the fires and the losses
resulting therefrom.
(6)
The Chief shall inform the Borough Manager of any
conditions in the Borough which, in his opinion, constitute a safety
and fire hazard.
(7)
The Chief shall perform such other duties and may
exercise such other authority as shall be prescribed in this chapter
or in any other ordinance which Borough Council may adopt.
(8)
The Chief shall provide Borough Council a monthly
fire report of responses, property loss and, when applicable, injuries
or death to civilians or fire fighters.
The officers of the Catasauqua Fire Department
shall be nominated or elected from an eligibility list in accordance
with the guidelines of the Catasauqua Fire Department ROG.
A.
Assistant/Deputy Chief. There shall be one Assistant
Chief and one Deputy Chief who shall be appointed by Council. The
membership of the active fire fighters shall submit nominees for Assistant
Chief and Deputy Chief from the eligibility list. The nominees are
to be determined by election during the month of December. The Fire
Chief shall confirm the names of the persons nominated to Borough
Council and may make recommendations to Council on the individuals
who were nominated. Borough Council shall act on the persons submitted
by the Fire Chief in the month of January at its regularly scheduled
monthly meeting or at a special public meeting. Appointments are to
be for the calendar year in which the appointment is made, beginning
on the date of appointment and ending December 31. Unless specific
action is taken by Borough Council to the contrary, all then current
appointees as of December 31 will remain in their position on an interim
basis until Council's regularly scheduled, or special, public meeting
in January of the succeeding year. In the event that Council is dissatisfied
with the persons submitted, it shall notify the Fire Chief in writing
that another person(s) shall be submitted and the fire fighters shall
renominate for the position(s) in question. During the interim period
that a renomination is taking place, the Fire Chief shall appoint
persons to serve as Acting Assistant Chief or Acting Deputy Chief.
In the event of a vacancy in the position of Assistant Chief or Deputy
Chief during a calendar year, the Fire Chief shall, with approval
of Council, appoint any qualified active fire fighter to fill the
vacancy for the remainder of the year.
(1)
The Assistant Chief and Deputy Chief shall be under
the supervision and direction of the Fire Chief.
(a)
Assistant Chief: training. The Assistant Chief
shall be responsible for training and be required to plan and administer
a systematic program of training drills. The Assistant Chief shall
form and head the Fire Department training committee. The Assistant
Chief shall be responsible for keeping records of training activities
and shall make recommendations to the Fire Chief on methods of improving
the quality of training operations.
(b)
Candidates for fire schools held outside the
Borough of Catasauqua shall have prior approval of Borough Council.
(c)
The Assistant Chief shall also be responsible
for taking care of all communications equipment and assure that all
such equipment is accounted for and is in proper working condition.
The Assistant Chief shall serve as the Fire Department Quartermaster
and be responsible to issue and maintain the personal protective equipment
and shall also maintain the Fire Department supply room. The Assistant
Chief may assign a fire fighter as an assistant.
(2)
Deputy Chief. The Deputy Chief shall be the Fire Department
Safety Officer and Fire Prevention Officer. The Deputy Chief shall
form a Department Safety Committee and head it. The Deputy Chief may
appoint a fire fighter to assist, who will be the on-scene Safety
and Accountability Officer. The Deputy Chief shall administer the
annual fire fighter physical program. The Deputy Chief shall form
and head the Fire Prevention Education Committee and may appoint a
fire fighter to assist as a fire prevention officer. The Deputy Chief
shall assist the Chief and the Assistant Chief when requested with
additional duties.
(3)
The Assistant Chief and/or Deputy Chief shall assume
command at fire or other emergency scene in the absence of the Chief
and shall direct operations until the Chief arrives. When the Chief
arrives at the fire or emergency scene, the Assistant Chief and Deputy
Chief shall report and follow the orders of the Chief. They may supervise
operations as directed and may give orders to subordinate officers
and active fire fighters. The first officer to arrive at any fire
or emergency scene shall be the active officer in charge until a higher-ranking
officer arrives.
B.
Election of Captains and Engineers for each fire company.
There shall be one Captain and one Engineer for each piece of apparatus
belonging to the Catasauqua Fire Department. Each Captain and Engineer
shall be elected annually in the month of December, in accordance
with the guidelines of the Catasauqua Fire Department ROG for the
following calendar year beginning January 1 and ending December 31,
by the active fire fighters of the company to which they are assigned.
The names of the persons elected by each company as the Captains and
Engineer shall be submitted in writing to the Fire Chief within five
days after the elections take place. The Fire Chief shall confirm
the names of the persons elected to Borough Council and may make recommendations
to Council on the officers who were elected. Borough Council shall
act on the list of elected officers which is submitted by the Fire
Chief in the month of January at its regularly scheduled meeting.
Appointments are to be for the calendar year in which the appointment
is made, beginning on the date of appointment and ending December
31. Unless specific action is taken by Borough Council to the contrary,
all then current appointees as of December 31 will remain in their
position on an interim basis until Council's regularly scheduled,
or special, public meeting in January of the succeeding year. In the
event that Council is dissatisfied with any of the elected officers
submitted, it shall notify the Fire Chief in writing that a new officer
shall be elected for the position and the respective company shall
have a reelection for the position in question. The name of the person
who is not approved by Council may not appear on the new ballot. The
name of the new person elected shall be submitted to Council by the
Fire Chief no later than the February meeting of Council. In the event
that Council would still be dissatisfied with the officer selected,
it may appoint a person to the position in question. During the interim
period that a reelection is taking place, the Fire Chief shall appoint
a person to serve as the Acting Officer for the unfilled position.
In the event of a vacancy in the position of Captain and Engineer
during a calendar year, the Fire Chief shall, with the approval of
Council, appoint any qualified fire fighter to fill the vacancy for
the remainder of the year.
C.
Duties of Captains. Each Captain shall be in charge
of the fire apparatus of the company. Each Captain shall be responsible
for the care and maintenance of this apparatus and all the equipment
which is assigned to the company. Each Captain shall also see to it
that the apparatus and the equipment are always clean and ready for
immediate use at all times. Each Captain shall keep the Fire Chief
informed of the condition of the apparatus and shall immediately report
any mechanical defects in this equipment. Each Captain shall be responsible
for getting the apparatus and equipment of the Department ready for
immediate service after each time they have been in use. At fire scenes
or other emergencies, the Captain shall be responsible for the proper
positioning of the apparatus of the company and for the operation
of the equipment of the apparatus. Each Captain shall follow the orders
of the superior officers and shall delegate orders to the personnel
of the company. When there is no superior officer present at a fire
or emergency scene, the Captain shall assume command of the operations
until the superior officer arrives.
D.
Engineers; drivers/operators.
(1)
Engineers. The Engineer of each company shall be responsible
for assisting the Captain in charge of the apparatus of the respective
company and shall be responsible for and shall keep the vehicle and
equipment in good condition and ready for immediate use. If the Engineer
notices any mechanical problems with the apparatus or the equipment
of the apparatus, the Engineer shall immediately report the problems
to the Captain. The Engineer shall drive the apparatus and shall follow
the orders of all of the superior officers. While driving the apparatus
on public or private thoroughfares and property, the Engineer shall
exercise due caution with regard to the safety of the vehicle and
the safety of other vehicles and persons. The Engineer shall operate
the equipment on the apparatus in accordance with the directions of
the superior officers.
(2)
Drivers/operators. The duties of the drivers/operators
of each company shall be the same as those duties of the Engineer
in their absence.
(3)
An Engineer and/or driver/operator, upon conviction
of a motor vehicle violation while on duty, may be suspended by Council
for a period of up to one year.
(4)
Each Engineer and/or driver/operator must annually
prepare an operator certification of violations and personal driving
record. This certification must include all motor vehicle violations
with the following details: the date, offense, location and type of
vehicle operated. The violations to be placed on the certification
list shall only include matters in which there has been a plea or
finding of guilt. This certification must be made pursuant to the
provisions of 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 4904 covering unsworn falsification
to authorities. Additional certifications may be requested of any
Engineer and/or driver/operator at any time by the Chief. Upon review
of the certification, the Chief may recommend to Council that the
Engineer and/or driver/operator be removed or suspended from said
position. Council shall then review the matter and determine if the
Engineer and/or driver/operator shall be removed or suspended (and
if suspended, the length of the same).
(5)
Any Engineer and/or driver/operator who has his motor
vehicle operator's license suspended or revoked must immediately report
the same to the Chief and that the Engineer and/or driver/operator
shall immediately be removed from said position by Council.
It shall be the duty of all active fire fighters
to obey the commands of their superior officers while in fire service,
including the cleaning and maintenance of equipment. Each fire fighter
shall perform other duties in the station as assigned by the superior
officers in order to keep the station in a clean and respectable condition.
In addition to following the orders of the officers of a designated
company, each fire fighter shall also obey the orders of the Fire
Chief, the Assistant Chief, Deputy Chief and superior officers of
the other companies. Each fire fighter shall perform the actual work
at fire scenes and other emergencies as directed by his superior officers.
In the event that no officer is present at a fire scene or other emergency,
the senior active fire fighter of the company shall assume command
of all operations until an officer arrives.
In order to assure a sufficient number of trained
driver/operators, the Fire Chief may designate, upon the recommendation
of the Captain of each company, additional active fire fighters to
serve as backup driver/operators in the event that the Engineer of
a company cannot be present for a fire call.
The Catasauqua Fire Department is a volunteer
organization. As such, each member of the Department serves in an
unpaid capacity. Any payment made by the Borough of Catasauqua to
any of the officers or other personnel of the Department is explicitly
not as compensation for the work they are performing, but is reimbursement
for expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. Borough
Council may establish guidelines for payment of any reimbursement,
whether requiring documentation of actual expenses or establishing
a flat rate of reimbursement, and may further establish a schedule
of reimbursement payments.
An active fire fighter may be removed from the
list of active fire fighters by the Fire Chief upon notification from
the Captain of each company that the fire fighter has not responded
to alarms for a one-month period or has not attended training sessions
for a one-month period without a legitimate excuse. Upon removal from
the list as an active fire fighter, the individual shall, within 10
days from the written notice of his removal, return all Department
and company equipment to the Captain of the company. Failure to comply
will result in the appropriate legal prosecution by the Borough.
Every member of the Fire Department shall obey
all the provisions of this chapter and all the orders of the superior
officers at all times when the Fire Department is engaged in any authorized
activity. Any member, including any officer violating or failing to
conform to any of the requirements of this section, shall be subject
to suspension by the Fire Chief who shall report such suspension to
the Borough Manager. It shall be the responsibility of the Borough
Manager to report such suspension to Borough Council after giving
the suspended member at least five days' written notice to appeal
for a hearing before Council which shall proceed to investigate the
charges made and shall hear both sides of the case. If Council shall
find such charges to be well founded, it may, by majority vote, either
suspend or expel the individual member from the Fire Department.
If any company, after having been admitted to
the Catasauqua Fire Department, shall for any reason wish to leave
the Department or to disband its personnel, all fire apparatus and
fire equipment in the possession of the company shall revert to the
Borough.
All needed repairs to any apparatus of the Catasauqua
Fire Department shall be reported to the Borough Manager by the Fire
Chief and shall be corrected as soon as possible under the direction
of the Borough Manager and the Fire Chief.
No person other than an active fire fighter
shall frequent, sleep in or loiter about any apparatus or equipment
area in the Borough fire stations. No person shall consume alcoholic
beverages or illegal drugs, nor gamble, nor create disturbance by
fighting or disorderly conduct in any of the apparatus or equipment
areas. All personnel shall leave the fire station before 2400 hours,
until 0700 hours unless assigned for emergency standby by the Fire
Chief.
[Amended 4-1-2013 by Ord. No. 1288]
It shall be the duty of the Captain of each
company to see that all of the fire apparatus belonging to the Borough
and assigned to the company shall at all times be kept in a clean
and proper condition for immediate use, that all equipment shall be
cleaned and placed upon the truck immediately after use, that all
chemical tanks are properly filled and ready for use and that the
apparatus is kept in the best possible condition at all times. It
shall be unlawful for any person, except the officers of the Catasauqua
Fire Department, at any time, to take any of the fire apparatus from
the place where the same is kept. No such fire apparatus shall be
removed from its fire house except for authorized Fire Department
activities. Any person violating any of the provisions of this section
shall, upon conviction therefor before the Mayor or any District Justice
of the Borough, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $100 and
costs of prosecution and, in default of payment thereof, imprisonment
in the Lehigh County prison for not more than 30 days. Any person
found guilty of violating an ordinance shall be assessed court costs
and reasonable attorneys’ fees incurred by the Borough in the
enforcement proceedings.
[Amended 4-1-2013 by Ord. No. 1288]
It shall be unlawful for any person to hinder
or interfere with any of the activities of the Fire Department while
the Department is engaged in going to or returning from a fire in
the extinguishment thereof or to disobey any of the orders of the
Fire Chief or designee which are issued at the scene of a fire for
the control of the fire and lessening congestion and interference
thereat, or for the safety of the members of the Fire Department and
the public. Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of
this section shall, upon conviction thereof before the Mayor or any
District Justice of the Borough, be sentenced to pay a fine of not
more than $100 and costs of prosecution, and in default of payment
thereof, imprisonment for not more than 30 days in the Lehigh County
prison. Any person found guilty of violating an ordinance shall be
assessed court costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees incurred
by the Borough in the enforcement proceedings.
The Fire Police of the Borough of Catasauqua
shall be under the supervision and direction of the Chief of Police.
All Fire Police shall be appointed or removed by the Chief of Police
and shall receive compensation as established by Borough Council.
All Fire Police shall be provided with uniforms as shall be designated
by the Mayor and Chief of Police.
A.
Officers. The officers of the Fire Police shall consist
of one Captain, one Lieutenant, and one Sergeant who shall be elected
by the Fire Police from their own membership on an annual basis. The
Fire Police shall have their election of officers in the month of
November for the following calendar year subject to the approval of
the Chief of Police and Borough Council.
B.
Function. The function of the Fire Police shall be
to direct and control the flow of vehicular or pedestrian traffic
during fire calls or perform any other appropriate related function
as designated by the Chief of Police.
C.
Membership. All Fire Police appointed by the Chief
of Police must be members in good standing with one of the fire companies.
This chapter and any additional ordinances adopted
by Borough Council shall supersede any regulation or bylaw of any
company comprising the Catasauqua Fire Department.
