[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Buchanan 11-4-1997 as §§ 38-12 and 38-13 of the 1997 Code.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Town of Buchanan Fire and Rescue is officially
recognized as the Fire Department serving the Town of Buchanan, and
the duties of fire fighting and fire prevention in the Town are delegated
to such Department. The Town of Buchanan Fire and Rescue shall be
responsible for the program of fire defense for the citizens and property
within the Town of Buchanan.
The Town Board shall appropriate funds for the
Town of Buchanan Fire and Rescue operations and for such apparatus
and equipment for the use by Fire and Rescue as the Board may deem
expedient and necessary to maintain efficiency and properly protect
life and property from fire.
A.
The primary objective of the fire defense program
is to serve all citizens, without prejudice or favoritism, by safeguarding,
collectively and individually, their lives against the effects of
fires and explosions.
B.
The second objective of the fire defense program is
to safeguard the general economy and welfare of the community by preventing
major conflagrations and the destruction by fire of industries and
businesses.
C.
The third objective of the fire defense program is
to protect the property of all citizens against the effects of fire
and explosions. All property deserves equal protection regardless
of location or monetary value.
A.
The Town of Buchanan Fire and Rescue shall be organized
and governed pursuant to its bylaws.
B.
The Town of Buchanan Fire and Rescue shall adopt bylaws
for its control, management, and governance and for regulating the
business and proceedings of the Department, which bylaws, after adoption
by a two-thirds vote of the members of the Department, shall not become
effective until approved by the Town Board. Any amendments to bylaws
shall also require a two-thirds vote of members and approval by the
Town Board.
The Town of Buchanan Fire and Rescue shall be
under the general management and supervision of the Town Board. The
organization and internal regulation of the Department shall be governed
by the provisions of this chapter and by such bylaws adopted by the
Department as are approved by the Town Board, except as otherwise
provided by law or ordinance.
A.
Fire Chief job description. The duties, responsibilities,
training, experience, abilities and other requirements of the Fire
Chief are detailed in the job description maintained and approved
by the Town Board for the position. The job description may be updated
or changed by the Town Board at any time.
B.
Command at fires. The incident commander shall have
complete command of and entire responsibility for all fire-fighting
operations, plan the control of the same, direct the action of the
Department when it arrives at a fire, observe that the Department
does its duty, grant leaves of absence at a fire when he/she deems
it proper and see that the fire-fighting apparatus is kept in proper
condition at all times.
C.
Enforcement of fire prevention and protection ordinances. The Fire Chief shall enforce Chapter 290, Fire Prevention, of the Code of the Town of Buchanan.
D.
Fiscal responsibility. Every year the Fire Chief shall
file with the Town Administrator a detailed estimate of the appropriations
needed for the conduct of the Department operations during the ensuing
fiscal year.
[Amended 11-10-2016 by Res. No. 2016-05]
A.
The Fire Chief, or the Chief's designee, shall be
the Fire Inspector of the Town of Buchanan and shall have the power
to appoint one or more Deputy Fire Inspectors and shall perform all
duties required of the fire inspectors by the laws of the state.
B.
For any inspection by the Fire Inspectors or Deputy
Fire Inspector(s) that reveals a fire hazard, the Fire Inspector or
Deputy Fire Inspector(s) may serve a notice, in writing, upon the
owner or occupant of the property giving said owner or occupant 48
hours in which to remove said hazard. In the event that said fire
hazard is not removed within 48 hours, it shall be deemed a nuisance
and the Fire Inspector or Deputy Fire Inspector(s) shall have the
same removed by the Town and the cost of removal reported to the Town
Administrator and placed as a special charge against the property.[1]
[Amended 11-10-2016 by Res. No. 2016-05]
C.
While acting as the Fire Inspector or Deputy Fire
Inspector, the Department shall have the right and authority to enter
any building or upon any premises in the Town of Buchanan at all reasonable
hours for the purpose of making inspections or investigations.
D.
The Fire Inspector or Deputy Fire Inspector(s) is
required to inspect all buildings, premises, and public thoroughfares,
except the interiors of private dwellings, for the purpose of ascertaining
and causing to be corrected any conditions liable to cause a fire,
or any violations of law or ordinance relating to the fire hazard
or to the prevention of fires. Such inspections shall be made at least
once in six months in all of the territory served by the Department,
and not less than once in three months in such territory as the Town
Board has designated or thereafter designates as within the fire limits
or as a congested area subject to conflagration, and oftener as the
Fire Chief orders. Each six-month period shall begin on January 1
and July 1, and each three-month period on January 1, April 1, July
1, and October 1 of each year.
E.
The Fire Inspector, Deputy Fire Inspector(s) or officers
of the Department shall make the inspections required by § 101.14,
Wis. Stats., and shall comply with the provisions thereof.
F.
It shall be the duty of the Fire Inspector or Deputy
Fire Inspector(s) to keep records of all inspections.
A.
The incident commander in command at any fire is hereby
vested with full and complete police authority at fires. Any officer
of the Department may cause the arrest of any person failing to give
the right-of-way to the Department in responding to a fire.
B.
The incident commander may prescribe certain limits
in the vicinity of any fire within which no persons, except firefighters
and police officers and those admitted by order of any officer of
the Department, shall be permitted to come.
C.
The incident commander shall have the power to cause
the removal of any property whenever it shall become necessary for
the preservation of such property from fire or to prevent the spreading
of fire or to protect adjoining property, and during the progress
of any fire he/she shall have the power to cause the removal of all
wires or other facilities and the turning off of all electricity or
other services where the same impedes the work of the Department during
the progress of a fire.
A.
The Town of Buchanan Fire and Rescue shall investigate
the cause, origin, and circumstances of every fire occurring in the
Town by which property has been destroyed or damaged and, so far as
possible, shall determine whether the fire is the result of deliberate
intent, carelessness or design. Investigations shall begin immediately
upon occurrence of a fire. The Fire Chief shall notify the Fire Investigator
of all incidents requiring an investigation. The Fire Investigator
shall immediately take charge of the physical evidence, shall further
cooperate with local, county, state or federal authorities in the
collection of evidence and in the prosecution of the case. Every fire
shall be reported, in writing, to the Department within 10 days after
the occurrence of the same by the Department officer in command of
the fire. The report shall be in the form prescribed by the Fire Chief
and shall contain a statement of all facts relating to the cause,
origin, and circumstances of such fire, the extent of the damage thereof,
and the insurance upon such property, and such other information as
may be required, including the injury, death, or rescue of persons.
B.
Open record requests to the Town of Buchanan Fire
and Rescue shall be filed with the Town Administrator and, with the
exception of open record requests for fire reports, shall be completed
by the Town Administrator according to the provisions of Ch. 19, Wis.
Stats. The Fire Chief shall be responsible for open records requests
for fire reports with copy to the Town Administrator.
[Amended 11-10-2016 by Res. No. 2016-05]
A.
Purpose and authority. This section is enacted pursuant
to the authority of § 66.0608, Wis. Stats., for the purpose
of authorizing volunteer funds to be held by the Town of Buchanan
Fire and Rescue.
B.
Authorization. The Town Board of the Town of Buchanan
does hereby authorize the Town of Buchanan Fire and Rescue Fire Chief
to deposit volunteer funds of the Department in an account in the
name of the Department in any public depository in which other Town
funds are being held by the Town Treasurer. Prior to any fund-raising,
the Town Attorney shall review the legality of fund-raising methods.
C.
Control of funds. The Department, through its Fire
Chief, is granted exclusive control over the expenditures of funds
contained within this segregated account.
D.
Limitations and requirements. The following limitations
and requirements shall apply to the handling and disbursement of funds
from the account:
(1)
Expenditures. Expenditures withdrawn from the account
may be made only upon majority vote of the Department members at a
duly noticed meeting of the Department. Such withdrawals and expenditures
may be made for any purpose that promotes the ability of the Department
to provide services for which it is organized.
(2)
Accounting. The Fire Chief shall provide the Town
Board with quarterly statements at the end of March, June, September,
and December of each calendar year. The statements shall include a
detailed itemization of all receipts, expenditures, and the balance
on hand at the end of the quarter. The source of all funds and the
identity of the payee for each disbursement shall be provided.
(3)
Audit. Department accounts shall be included in the
annual audit of Town funds.
(4)
Ownership of funds. Funds shall remain the property
of the Town of Buchanan until funds are dispersed.
