[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of
Athens 11-22-2004 as §§ 5-2-1,
5-2-3 and 5-2-12 of the 2004 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
Fire Department recognized. The Athens Area Fire Commission is officially
recognized as the Fire Department serving the Village of Athens, and
the duties of firefighting and fire prevention in the Village are
delegated to such Department. The Athens Area Fire Commission shall
be responsible for the program of fire defense for the citizens and
property within the Village of Athens.
B.
Fire protection agreement. The Village of Athens, surrounding municipalities,
and the Athens Area Fire Commission have entered into a contract under
§ 66.0301, Wis. Stats., for the operation of a Fire District
under the management of the Fire Commission. Such contract is on file
with the Village Clerk and shall govern the operation of the Department
and the relation of the Village thereto.
C.
Appropriations. The Village Board shall appropriate funds for Fire
Commission operations and for such apparatus and equipment for the
use of the Fire Commission as the Board may deem expedient and necessary
to maintain efficiency and properly protect life and property from
fire.
D.
Goals of the fire defense program.
(1)
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.
(2)
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.
(3)
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.
E.
Organization. The Fire Commission is authorized and directed to adopt
a constitution and bylaws for the control, management, government
and regulation of its business and proceedings.
A.
Police authority at fires.
(1)
The Chief and assistants or officers in command at any fire are hereby
vested with full and complete police authority at fires. Any officer
of the Athens Area Fire Commission may cause the arrest of any person
failing to give the right-of-way to the Athens Area Fire Commission
in responding to a fire.
(2)
The Fire Chief may prescribe certain limits in the vicinity of any
fire within which no persons, excepting firefighters and police officers
and those admitted by order of any officer of the Fire Department,
shall be permitted to come.
(3)
The Chief 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 the 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 Fire Department during the progress of a fire.
B.
Fire inspection duties.
(1)
The Fire Chief, or the Chief's designee, shall be the Fire Inspector
of the Village of Athens 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 and rules of the Department
of Safety and Professional Services, particularly § 101.14,
Wis. Stats.
(2)
While acting as Fire Inspector pursuant to § 101.14(2),
Wis. Stats., the Fire Chief, or any officer of the Athens Area Fire
Commission designated by the Fire Chief, shall have the right and
authority to enter any building or upon any premises in the Village
of Athens at all reasonable hours for the purpose of making inspections
or investigations which, under the provisions of this Code of Ordinances,
he/she may deem necessary. Should the Fire Inspector find that any
provisions of this Code relating to fire hazards and prevention of
fires are being violated, or that a fire hazard exists which should
be eliminated, it shall be his/her duty to give such directions for
the abatement of such conditions as he/she shall deem necessary and,
if such directions are not complied with, to report such noncompliance
to the Village Board for further action.
(3)
The Chief of the Athens Area Fire Commission ("Fire Department")
is required, by himself/herself or by officers or members of the Fire
Department designated by him/her as Fire Inspectors, 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 fire or any violations
of any 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 Fire Department and not less
than once in three months in such territory as the Village Board has
designated or hereafter designates as within the Village or as a congested
district subject to conflagration, and more often as the Chief of
the Fire Department orders. Each six-month period shall begin on January
1 and July 1.
(4)
If a violation is found upon initial Fire Department inspection,
there will be a second follow-up inspection to verify that the initial
violation has been corrected. If a third follow-up inspection is required,
the business will be charged a fee payable to the Athens Area Fire
Commission as prescribed in the Village Fee Schedule.[1]
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 in the name of the Athens Area Fire Commission
("Fire Department"). This section is to be interpreted in conformance
with that statute as it may be amended from time to time.
B.
Adoption of authorization. The Athens Village Board does hereby authorize
the Fire Chief to deposit volunteer company funds of the Fire Department
in an account in the name of the Athens Area Fire Commission in any
public depository in which other Village funds are being held by the
Village Treasurer or designee.
C.
Control of funds. The Athens Area Fire Commission, through its Fire
Chief, is granted exclusive control over the expenditure of volunteer
company funds of the Fire Department. This authority is granted without
limitation as to amount or type of funds. It is subject to the limitations
and requirements hereinafter set forth.
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 Athens Area Fire Commission members present
at a duly noticed meeting of the Fire Department. Such withdrawals
and expenditures may be made for any purpose that promotes the ability
of the Fire Department to provide services for which it is organized.
(2)
Accountings. The Fire Chief shall provide the Village with a quarterly
statement at the end of March, June, September and December of each
calendar year. The statements shall be provided within 30 days of
the end of the calendar quarter. 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 set forth.
(3)
Audit. Athens Area Fire Commission accounts authorized by this section
shall be included in any audit of Fire District funds. They shall
be audited in the same manner as other Fire District funds.
