[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee
of the Township of Pilesgrove 3-9-1982. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Reliance Fire Company is hereby established
as the official Fire Department of the Township of Pilesgrove coextensive
with territorial jurisdiction of said township.
[Amended 2-11-2020 by Ord. No. 20-02]
The Department shall consist of one Chief, three Assistant Chiefs,
two Captains, the Reliance Fire Company and the members thereof and
as many additional fire companies and hose companies as the Township
Committee may from time to time deem necessary.
[Amended 4-13-1993 by Ord. No. 93-2; 6-13-2023 by Ord. No. 23-05]
Each company shall be entitled to 60 active members and 10 members
of the Junior Firemen's Auxiliary, for a total of 70 members
consisting of both active and junior auxiliary members. The words
"fireman" or "firemen" whenever used in this chapter is intended to
apply to a firefighter, regardless of gender, and nothing in this
chapter shall be interpreted to preclude females from membership in
any company or the Junior Firemen's Auxiliary. The use of the
words "he," "his," or "him" shall not be interpreted to preclude females
from occupying any office or position in the Fire Department or Fire
Company, and those words shall be modified to the extent necessary
in applying to any section of this chapter to a female person.
The government and management of the different
companies shall be according to such constitution, rules and bylaws
as may be adopted by them, provided that the same shall not be inconsistent
with the provisions of this chapter or of the laws of this state.
[Amended 2-11-2020 by Ord. No. 20-02]
A.
The management and control of said Fire Department shall be under
the Chief, Assistant Chiefs, and Captains, who shall be jointly and
separately responsible to the Mayor and Township Committee for the
proper keeping, care and use of all fire apparatus committed to their
care, in such manner as the Committee may from time to time order
and direct. The Chief, Assistant Chiefs and Captains shall be elected
by the members of the Fire Department at an election to be duly called
in accordance with its constitution, rules and bylaws.
B.
The Chief, Assistant Chiefs and Captains shall serve for the period
of one year and until their successors shall have been elected and
qualified. The Chief, Assistant Chiefs and Captains shall be members
of the Fire Department in good standing, and no one shall be entitled
to vote at any said election unless he is a duly qualified fireman
in good standing in the Company. The result of said election, signed
by the election officers, shall be forwarded to the Committee, and
no person shall assume the duties of the Office of Chief, Assistant
Chief, Captain or Officer until his election has been approved by
the Committee.
The members of the Reliance Fire Company are
hereby admitted, and each of them shall be and become firemen under
the Fire Department of the Township of Pilesgrove upon filing with
the Clerk of the township a schedule of names, the date of admission
and the place of residence of each member. Said certificate shall
be signed by the Chief and attested by the Secretary of the Company.
A.
No person, except as provided in Subsection B hereof, shall hereafter become a member of the Fire Department or of any of the companies or units thereof unless he has attained the age of 18 and is not over the age of 57 and is a citizen of the United States at the time of his acceptance in said Department. He shall be physically fit to perform the duties of a fireman, evidenced by a certificate to that effect after a physical examination for that purpose by a practicing physician, nurse practitioner, or physician's assistant.
[Amended 3-19-2009 by Ord. No. 09-05; 2-11-2020 by Ord. No. 20-02; 6-13-2023 by Ord. No. 23-05]
B.
Junior Firemen's Auxiliary.
(1)
A Junior Firemen's Auxiliary to the Fire Department
of the Township of Pilesgrove is hereby established pursuant to the
provisions of N.J.S.A. 40A:14-95 et seq. and subject to the supervision
of said fire company and its Chief. The members of said auxiliary
shall be known as "junior firemen."
(2)
Junior firemen shall meet all the qualifications of
regular firemen, except that they need only have reached the age of
16 years and may be no older than 18 years of age.
(3)
Said junior firemen, before being considered for membership,
must obtain permission to join the Auxiliary from their parents or
guardian and must submit to the fire company said permission, in writing,
and acknowledged or approved in the manner required by law for deeds
to real estate to be recorded.
(4)
Members of the Auxiliary shall be insured by the same
coverage and in the same amounts provided for the regular volunteer
firemen of the Township of Pilesgrove.
(5)
Every person seeking to become a junior fireman must
apply and be selected in the same manner as regular firemen.
(6)
Junior firemen shall be trained for eventual membership
in the Reliance Fire Company by the Chief and the regular members.
(7)
No junior fireman shall be allowed to perform duties
that would expose him to the same degree of hazard as a regular member
of the volunteer fire company.
(8)
Junior firemen shall not fight fires.
(9)
Junior firemen shall be subject to provisions of the
township ordinance covering firemen and to suspension or expulsion
as provided therein.
[Amended 6-13-2023 by Ord. No. 23-05]
Every member of the Fire Department shall in each and every
year perform at least 25% of duty, to be composed of actual attendance
and duty at fires and drills, and a record shall be kept of such attendance
and duty by the Chief of the Fire Department and reported to the municipal
officials annually.
Every person seeking to join the Fire Department
shall make application to the company or unit which he desires to
join, and upon his election to membership by a vote of 2/3 of
the members present and voting, he shall become a member in good standing
of the Fire Department after approval of his membership by the President
of the Department and confirmation thereof by the Township Committee,
and his name shall be entered on a roll of firemen kept by the Township
Clerk. He shall be given a badge of membership.
No engine, hook and ladder truck, hose truck
or other mobile equipment shall, during the existence of any fire
in the township or alarm of fire or at any time, be taken out of the
firehouse unless the Chief or at least one fireman of said company
is present and consents thereto.
[Amended 2-11-2020 by Ord. No. 20-02]
The Chief or, in his absence, one of the Assistant Chiefs or
Captains, shall at all times at fires have sole and absolute command
over all engines and fire companies of said Department, and it shall
be his duty to direct the other officers to see that the fire apparatus
is placed in the most advantageous situation for the extinguishment
of the fire, and it shall be his duty to examine every month the condition
of the fire companies, trucks, ladders and other apparatus and firehouses
of the Township and report the condition of the same to the Township
Committee in January of each year.
The Chief shall inquire into all violations
of the provisions of this chapter or of any law of the state or ordinance
of the township relating to the prevention or extinguishment of fires
and shall cause such legal proceedings to be had as shall prevent
the continuance of the same. He shall investigate the cause of all
fires which may take place within the township, and if the result
of such inquiry shall satisfy him that the fire was of incendiary
origin, he shall report to the Committee that there are good and sufficient
grounds or presumption that the fire so occurring was caused by design,
and it shall thereupon be lawful for the Committee to offer such reward
as it may deem advisable or as the Committee shall recommend for the
discovery and apprehension of the incendiary, such reward to be paid
on conviction of the person or persons so offending.
[Amended 2-11-2020 by Ord. No. 20-02]
It shall be the duty, subject to the direction of the Chief,
of all members of the Fire Department to prevent all persons not belonging
to the Department from entering any house or handling any apparatus
belonging to the Department, except as is hereinafter provided. Every
person not a fireman who shall be present at a fire shall be subject
and obedient to the orders of the Chief, Assistant Chief or Captain
or any member of the Fire Department acting under their direction
in extinguishing the fire, preserving order and removing property.
The engine, hook and ladder truck and other
machines and apparatus of the Fire Department of this township, when
driven on any street in attending any fire alarm, shall have the right-of-way
thereon, and all persons driving vehicles on such streets shall turn
out for such engine, truck and other machines or apparatus.
The companies admitted or organized under this
chapter may attend fires outside the Township of Pilesgrove.
Exemption certificates will be issued to members
of the Fire Department who shall have served seven years in active
duty under municipal control, as required by a law of April 29, 1935,
as amended May 26, 1936.
[Added 3-14-2023 by Ord. No. 23-02]
A.
The Reliance Fire Department is recognized and designated as the
firefighting entity of the Township.
B.
The Reliance Fire Department is composed entirely of unpaid volunteers
including the Chief.
C.
Effective January 1, 2023, there shall be established a stipend program
to compensate the Reliance Fire Chief. This program shall be implemented
and monitored by the Township Administrator in consultation with the
Chief Financial Officer. Such stipend program shall comply with the
requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act; the regulations of the
Internal Revenue Service regarding payments to volunteers; and any
and all other applicable and controlling federal or state law.
E.
The program established by this section shall apply only to the Fire
Chief of the Reliance Fire Company and shall not extend to Fire Police
or any other personnel.
