[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Lincoln Park 11-12-1991 by Ord. No. 1,032 as Ch. 13 of the 1991 Code; amended in its entirety 10-17-2011 by Ord. No. 13-11, effective 11-2-2011. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Intermunicipal services agreement — See Ch. 55.
Survivor's pension — See Ch. 88, Art. I.
A. 
A Fire Department, to be known and designated as the "Lincoln Park Fire Department," is hereby created and is vested with control over all fire emergency equipment now owned or hereinafter acquired by the Borough of Lincoln Park for the prevention and extinguishment of fires or other hazardous conditions.
B. 
Mission statement. It is the primary mission of the Lincoln Park Fire Department to protect the people and property of the Borough of Lincoln Park from catastrophe by fire, accident or environmental emergency and to lend aid where and when these events manifest themselves. It is our intent to carry out this mission timely, professionally, safely, and with respect for our fellow members and the residents of Lincoln Park.
The members of the Fire Department shall adopt rules and regulations and bylaws for governing the Fire Department not inconsistent with this chapter. A copy of the same shall be given to all firefighters on the Borough Clerk's Roll of Firefighters. It is the obligation of all members to have full knowledge of the rules and regulations and Department bylaws.
The Fire Department shall consist of Hose Company No. 1, Hose Company No. 2, and such additional duly incorporated fire companies as the Mayor and Borough Council shall recognize and approve.
The Borough Clerk shall maintain an accurate record of all firefighters, which shall be known as the "Roll of Firefighters." Such record shall show such firefighter's full name, date of birth, date of naturalization if foreign born, address, change of address while a firefighter, date and type of change in status, including but not limited to changes in exemptions, suspensions, expulsion, retirement, resignation, leaves of absence, and date entered into Roll of Firefighters. The date when a firefighter is confirmed by the Director as a Department officer shall also be recorded. Each firefighter's annual percentage of duty attendance at alarms and drills shall also be reported by the Chief annually to the Director of the Department of Fire ("Fire Director").
A. 
Any person convicted of a crime or offense involving moral turpitude, including but not limited to any crime or offense involving deceit, fraud, theft, arson and/or other burnings, atrocious assault and battery, breaking and entering, bribery or corruption, burglary, embezzlement, conversion and misappropriation of funds, extortion, forgery, counterfeiting, frauds and cheats, lewdness, indecency, obscenity, larceny, loan sharking, possession or use of a controlled dangerous substance, rape, carnal abuse, receiving stolen property, or any other crime against the person, shall be ineligible for membership with the Fire Department and, upon conviction thereof while holding such membership, shall forfeit his or her membership, in accordance with N.J.S.A. 2C:51-1 et seq. or any amendment thereto.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
B. 
No applicant for membership or current member of the Fire Department shall directly or indirectly give to, receive from or promise to any person any office, position, employment, benefit or anything of value for the purpose of influencing or obtaining the political support, aid or vote of any person, under the penalty of being disqualified to hold membership therein.
C. 
All applicants for membership with the Fire Department shall be subject to fingerprinting and a criminal background check by the Lincoln Park Police Department, or other agency authorized by the Borough of Lincoln Park, to determine the presence of any criminal convictions, for the protection of the public safety and welfare.
D. 
No applicant shall be eligible for membership with the Fire Department or any unit thereof unless he/she shall be a citizen of the United States, between the ages of 16 and 45 years of age, and sufficiently physically fit to perform the duties of a firefighter, evidenced by a certification to that effect, signed by a licensed, practicing physician of the State of New Jersey, following a physical examination conducted for that purpose.
E. 
All applicants for membership shall be permanent residents of the Borough of Lincoln Park for at least six months and subject to an eleven-month probationary period.
F. 
Applicants, at the time of application, who are listed on the current roster of the New Jersey State Firefighters Association and meet current State of New Jersey training criteria and all other eligibility requirements shall be immediately eligible for membership and subject to a five-month probationary period.
G. 
Applicants who are out-of-state transfers shall be eligible for membership so long as they are listed on the current roster of their home state's Fire Department and meet current State of New Jersey training criteria and all other eligibility requirements. Proof of satisfaction of training criteria shall be subject to the approval of the Chief of the Fire Department, Battalion Chief of the Fire Company, and the Fire Director. If accepted, the applicant shall be subject to a five-month probationary period.
H. 
An applicant over 45 years of age shall be immediately eligible for probationary and, if subsequently appropriate, for regular membership in the Lincoln Park Fire Department if he/she is listed on the current roster of the New Jersey State Firefighters Association and meets current training criteria and all other eligibility requirements, and is subject to a five-month probationary period.
I. 
Applicants for junior firefighter must be between the ages of 16 and 18, be at least a freshman in high school, must meet the same residency requirements as a regular firefighter, have at least one parent or guardian interviewed by the assigned membership committee, and have their application for membership signed by at least one parent or guardian. When a junior firefighter turns 18 years of age, he or she has 30 days in which he or she may apply for regular membership. All eligibility requirements of this section shall apply. Failure to apply for regular membership within 30 days will result in the termination of his/her junior firefighter status.
J. 
Applicants who are nonresidents of the Borough of Lincoln Park but work in the Borough shall be eligible for membership so long as they are listed on the current roster of a New Jersey fire department, are listed on the current roster of the New Jersey State Firefighters Association and meet the current State of New Jersey training criteria and all other eligibility requirements and shall be subject to a five-month probationary period. These applicants will not be eligible for a clothing allowance, the LOSAP program or any other Fire Department benefits.
[Added 7-19-2021 by Ord. No. 8-21,[2] effective 8-9-2021]
[2]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also redesignated former Subsection J as Subsection K
K. 
Any person knowingly providing false or misleading information on an application for membership shall be disqualified from membership therein.
A. 
Every person seeking to join the Fire Department shall make application to the company which he/she desires to join and, upon his/her election to membership as per the bylaws of the Department, he/she shall become a member of the Fire Department only after approval by the Chief and confirmation by the Fire Director, causing him/her to be entered on the Roll of Firefighters as kept by the Borough Clerk.
B. 
Members shall surrender all Fire Department property immediately upon resignation, suspension or dismissal. If a member does not surrender such property within 14 days the Chief or the member's Battalion Chief shall notify the Borough for appropriate action to recover such property.
A person having his/her name entered on the Borough Clerk's Roll of Firefighters shall be considered a firefighter until his/her name is stricken from the roll. No name shall be thus stricken except upon written demand of the Chief and approval, within 14 days thereafter, by the Fire Director.
A. 
Every member of the Fire Department shall, in each and every year, perform at least 50% duty during each fiscal year, which shall include attendance at alarms, drills and meetings.
[Amended 7-19-2021 by Ord. No. 8-21, effective 8-9-2021]
B. 
A member in good standing is one who has maintained such 50% attendance for the previous fiscal year.
[Amended 7-19-2021 by Ord. No. 8-21, effective 8-9-2021]
C. 
Any member who fails to maintain at least 30% duty for at least two or more consecutive years shall receive a letter of intent from the member's Battalion Chief. The member will be informed that his/her attendance must improve or the member may be removed from the Roll of Firefighters.
D. 
The fiscal year shall be October 1 to September 30.
Each company of the Fire Department shall not have more than 55 regular and junior members. Not more than 10 of the 55 members can be juniors.
A. 
The officers of the Fire Department shall consist of the following:
(1) 
One Chief of the Department.
(2) 
One Deputy Chief of the Department.
(3) 
One Battalion Chief from each company.
(4) 
One Captain from each company.
(5) 
Two Lieutenants from each company.
(6) 
One Safety Officer.
(7) 
One Fire Director.
(8) 
One President of the Department.
(9) 
One Vice President of the Department.
(10) 
One Secretary of the Department.
(11) 
One Treasurer of the Department.
(12) 
One Sergeant at Arms of the Department.
B. 
Election and terms. The above officers shall take office at 12:00 noon, January 1 of the new year following the election and shall serve until duly replaced.
[Amended 7-19-2021 by Ord. No. 8-21, effective 8-9-2021]
(1) 
The offices of Chief and Deputy Chief shall be duly elected from the membership of the Department by majority vote for a two-year term.
(2) 
The offices of President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Sergeant at Arms shall be duly elected from the membership of the Department by majority vote for a two-year term.
(3) 
The offices of Battalion Chief, Captain, and Lieutenant shall be elected from membership of the individual companies by a majority vote for a two-year term.
(4) 
The Safety Officer shall be appointed by the Chief of the Department each year, for a term of one year.
(5) 
The Fire Director shall be appointed by the Mayor of the Borough of Lincoln Park for a term of four years.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See also Ch. 5, Administrative Code, § 5-56.
C. 
The above officers and duties of the officers are provided for in Section II of the Lincoln Park Fire Department Rules and Regulations.
D. 
Vacancies in any of the above offices shall be filled as provided in the rules and regulations and bylaws.
A. 
Members and officers of the Fire Department as listed on the Borough Clerk's Roll of Firefighters shall receive such compensation toward expenses incurred by them on Department duty as the Chief, in conjunction with the Director, may, from time to time, determine and as confirmed by the Borough Council.
B. 
Compensation shall be paid annually from such funds lawfully appropriated only if 50% duties are maintained for the fiscal year.
[Amended 7-19-2021 by Ord. No. 8-21, effective 8-9-2021]
C. 
In the event of loss of personal items, such as glasses, clothing or other valuable items, while on duty at any fire or emergency, such loss may be reimbursed by the Borough Council upon recommendation of the Chief. Any firefighter shall be reimbursed for expenses incurred while on official Fire Department business.
A. 
No person shall:
(1) 
Willfully handle, damage or remove any fire apparatus or equipment or damage, at any time or place, any fire apparatus or equipment.
(2) 
Willfully hinder, molest, or attempt to do any violence to any officer, member of the Fire Department, or to any other Borough officer while performing his/her duty at a fire or in going to or returning from a fire or any alarm.
(3) 
During a fire, or at any time, drive any vehicle over a hose or other fire equipment.
(4) 
Raise, create or continue a false alarm of fire.
(5) 
Falsely represent any member of the Fire Department.
(6) 
Maliciously, or with intent to deceive, use or imitate any of the signals or devices adopted and used by the Fire Department or wear in public the badge or insignia prescribed to be worn by members of the Fire Department.
B. 
Violations and penalties. To the extent applicable, the penalty for violation of this section shall be as prescribed by Title 2C of the New Jersey statutes. In the absence of an applicable statute, the general penalty in § 1-2 of this Code shall apply.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).