[Amended 8-4-1997 by Ord.
No. 97-2479]
A.
The line officers of the Fire Department of the Township shall consist
of a Chief, Deputy Chief, First Assistant Chief, Second Assistant
Chief and Third Assistant Chief. The Chief shall be the primary officer
of the Department.
B.
The administrative officers of the Department shall be the President,
Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer and such other officers as
prescribed by the bylaws of the Fire Department. Their nomination,
election, duties, authority and term of office shall be as prescribed
in the bylaws of the Fire Department.
A.
Chief. The individual serving as Deputy Chief of the Fire Department in October of the current year shall be the nominee presented to the Department as the person to stand for election as Chief. Should this individual decline or be unable to accept the nomination, then the Chief shall be nominated in the same manner as are the Deputy and Assistant Chiefs. (See Subsection B.)
B.
The individual to be nominated to the office of Deputy Chief shall
be selected by the company next in line of seniority entitled to nominate
to such office; the individual to be nominated to the office of First
Assistant Chief shall be selected by the company next thereafter,
in order of seniority, entitled to nominate to such office; the individual
to be nominated to the office of Second Assistant Chief shall be selected
by the company next thereafter, in order of seniority, entitled to
nominate to such office; the individual to be nominated to the office
of Third Assistant Chief shall be selected by the company next thereafter,
in order of seniority, entitled to nominate to such office.
C.
Said nominations shall be held in the usual meeting places of each
of said companies entitled to nominate said officers at the first
regular meeting held by said company in October. The names of the
nominees shall be submitted to the Department at its regular November
meeting or at such special meetings as may be called for such purpose
and shall be voted upon by the eligible membership of the Department
at the annual election.
A.
To be eligible for nomination to the office of Chief, Deputy Chief,
First Assistant Chief, Second Assistant Chief or Third Assistant Chief
(collectively referred to as the "officers"), a nominee shall have
served as an active firefighter in the Township for five years next
preceding their election and prior to their nomination shall have
served and fully completed a one-year term as Captain of one of the
companies of the Department.
[Amended 2-22-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-3330]
(1)
The
nominee shall also have obtained, prior to being nominated to serve
as an officer, an Incident Management Level 3 Certification issued
by the New Jersey Division of Fire Safety and shall have successfully
completed a New Jersey Fire Officer Level 1 Course meeting the requirements
of the NFPA 1021, an Incident Safety Officer Course and the twelve-hour
Principles of Building Construction Course. In addition, any nominee
for an officer position shall have met the LOSAP qualifying criteria
for three years preceding the nomination.
(2)
The
eligibility requirements to serve as an officer shall take effect
four years following the adoption of the ordinance establishing said
requirements by the Township Committee (the "exemption period"). All
officers serving on the date of adoption of the ordinance establishing
these eligibility requirements shall be exempt from said requirements
during the exemption period.
(3)
The
Middletown Township Fire Academy shall offer all or part of the courses
required to serve as an officer during each semester on a rotating
basis so that over a four-year period all of the required courses
are offered. If a member cannot complete any of the required courses
at either the Middletown Township Fire Academy or the Monmouth County
Fire Academy during a four-year period, then the Fire Department shall
reimburse the member for the cost of tuition and books from another
recognized in-state training agency.
B.
The Chief, Deputy Chief, First Assistant Chief, Second Assistant
Chief and Third Assistant Chief shall each be members of different
companies. In no case shall any two or more of said officers be active
members of the same company.
A.
On the first or second Saturday of December in each and every year,
the Fire Department shall hold its annual election for the purpose
of voting on the nominees for Chief, Deputy Chief, First Assistant
Chief, Second Assistant Chief and Third Assistant Chief in the following
manner:
[Amended 6-17-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-3256]
(1)
Prior to the annual elections or at such times as may be required
for special elections, the President of the Department shall appoint
a judge and two tellers to supervise the election. None of these individuals
shall be from a company whose turn it is to nominate for any of the
Department line officers. The Secretary of the Fire Department shall
be the official recorder of elections.
(2)
The annual election shall be held on such a date as is designated
at the last meeting of the Fire Department before such date or at
such special meeting as may be called for such purpose. Said election
shall be held at one of the fire houses of said Department, to be
so designated by the Chief at the regular Fire Department meeting
in November. The polls shall be opened for such annual election at
7:00 p.m. and shall close at 9:00 p.m. of the day appointed for holding
said election. Those qualified to vote shall be the 30 active members
from each company.
B.
The names of all five nominees shall appear on the ballot in order
of their rank. Each of the names shall be followed by the words "YES"
and "NO." Each eligible voter shall indicate his choice of the alternate
by marking his ballot in the manner prescribed thereon.
C.
If any of the nominees of any of the aforesaid offices shall fail
to receive a majority, in the affirmative, of the votes cast, the
Secretary of the Fire Department, within five business days, shall
notify the company from which said nominee was named and said company,
within five business days of receipt of said notice, shall submit
another nominee for said office to the Fire Department. The Chief
then shall call a special election within 10 business days from the
date of receipt of said new nomination. This procedure shall be repeated
until the office is filled. The name of the defeated individual may
not be placed in nomination again until such time as the next regular
nominations for Department line officers shall occur.
D.
If any company shall refuse or fail to comply with the requirements of Subsection C of this section, the following shall apply:
(1)
For the company whose turn it is to nominate for Third Assistant Chief: Said company shall forfeit its rights to nominate to the chief offices for the next succeeding five years. Said rights to nominate to such offices shall then pass to the company next in line of seniority, who shall then be bound by these provisions. All succeeding companies shall move in order of seniority, and the offending company shall take its place in line after the company normally preceding it as indicated in § 41-3A of this chapter.
(2)
For all other companies entitled to nominate for Chief: With the
advice and consent of the remaining Chiefs-elect, the Township Administrator
shall appoint an ex-chief of the Department to the vacancy for the
term of office specified in this article, all other provisions of
this article notwithstanding, except that the appointee may not be
from the company normally entitled to nominate for the vacant office
or office-elect nor may he be from any company entitled to any other
chief office.
E.
A statement of the results of the election shall be signed by the
judge of elections and the Secretary of the Department and shall be
transmitted to the Township Clerk and shall be submitted by him to
the Township Committee.
A.
The Chief, Deputy Chief, First Assistant Chief, Second Assistant
Chief and Third Assistant Chief shall hold their offices, respectively,
for one year from the first day of January next ensuing their election.
B.
If any chief officer shall, for any reason, be unable to complete his term of office and if the vacancy shall occur more than one month prior to the annual elections for Chief, then the company he represents shall, within five business days after the office is vacated, hold an election within that company to nominate a Department member to succeed to that position. The man nominated must meet all requirements of § 41-7 of this article. The company shall at once notify the Secretary of the Fire Department, and the Department will notify each company that an election will be held. The election shall be held within 10 business days following notification by the company to the Department Secretary of the identity of the nominee and shall be held at a fire house designated by the Chief of the Department. If a majority of the votes cast are not in the affirmative, the company shall renominate as in § 41-8C of this chapter.
It shall be the duty of the Chief to meet with the Department
Budget Committee in order to supervise the preparation of the annual
budget, supervise all firematic activities, supervise the Division
of Fire Prevention, supervise the operations of the Fire Academy and
administer the financial disbursements of the Fire Department portion
of the municipal budget and bonded items. He shall make a monthly
and annual report of all fires to the Township Committee. He shall
take charge of all fire investigations. In all cases of fire threatening
injury to or destruction of property, he shall take prompt and effectual
measures and use the means of the Department to extinguish the fire.
In the absence or incapacitation of the Chief, his command shall
devolve upon and his duties be performed by the Deputy Chief or, in
the absence or incapacitation of both, by the First Assistant Chief;
or in the absence or incapacitation of the former officers, by the
Second Assistant Chief; and in the absence or incapacitation of the
former officers, by the Third Assistant Chief; or in the absence or
incapacitation of all five such officers, by the ranking officers
in the district or locality of the fire.
A.
The Chief, Deputy Chief, First Assistant Chief, Second Assistant
Chief and Third Assistant Chief shall attend fires which may occur
within the Township limits or elsewhere where necessary and called
upon, and each, in the order of seniority of position, is hereby authorized
and empowered to take charge of any fire, burning building and any
other building likely to be burned or threatened with burning. They
shall admit only such persons to said building or buildings as they
may deem necessary to aid in the extinguishment of the fire and preservation
of property. Said officers, and each of them, are hereby vested with
all the powers of police officers of the Township, while proceeding
to, attending upon and returning from a fire, to the end that they
may and shall preserve the peace and protect all property, both public
and private.
B.
They shall at all times have sole and absolute control and command
over the fire apparatus and over the members of the Fire Department
and over all other apparatus aiding and assisting the Department at
the scene of the fire or other emergency.
[Amended 2-24-1986 by Ord. No. 1855]
