[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of the City of Monona
as Title 5, Ch. 2, of the 1994 Code; amended in its entirety at time
of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II). Subsequent
amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fires and fire prevention — See Ch.
232.
A. Pursuant to § 62.13(8)(a), Wis. Stats., the City of Monona
Fire Department is officially recognized as the provider of the essential
services of fire protection and emergency medical care to the people
that live, work or travel through the City of Monona. The Department
also provides service to those communities that reciprocally provide
mutual aid to Monona. The contemporary duties expected of a fire department
include but may not be limited to paramedic-level emergency care and transportation, fire
prevention inspections, public fire and safety education, fire suppression,
first responder first aid and defibrillation, transportation accidents,
construction accidents and industrial accidents, and assistance to
law enforcement, as well as operations at natural and man-made disasters.
The duties of the Fire Department need to stay current with the needs
of a dynamic community.
B. The Fire Department shall be in charge of firefighting and emergency
care where fires, emergency medical incidents, accidents or disasters
threaten life and/or property and those duties related to the performance
of this service within the City.
C. Unless the context requires otherwise, all references in this Code
to the "Fire Department" or "Department" shall mean the City Fire
Department and include the provision of emergency medical care and
other rescue services where life(s) is threatened.
The Department is comprised of a combination of full-time, part-time
and paid-on-call personnel. The Department shall have a Fire Chief
as well as other officers and personnel as determined by the Common
Council, which shall be appointed by the Fire Chief subject to approval
by the Police and Fire Commission and subject to the day-to-day command
authority of the Fire Chief.
The Department shall receive the funding necessary to provide
service as determined by the Common Council. The Common Council shall
also establish the level of compensation for all personnel assigned
to the Department.
The organization and internal regulation of the Department shall
be governed by the provisions of this chapter and by such rules, regulations,
standard operating procedures and guidelines as adopted by the Department
and approved by the Police and Fire Commission. The Department shall
consist of no less than 22 active members, unless otherwise determined
by the Common Council.
A. Any person desiring to be a member of the Fire Department may file
with the Fire Chief an application in such form as the Department
may require.
B. All resignations from the Department shall take the same course as
applications for and appointments to membership.
A. Appointment. The Police and Fire Commission shall appoint the Fire
Chief, who shall hold his or her office subject to suspension or removal
by the Board for cause. The Fire Chief shall have command of the Fire
Department in accordance with state statutes and report to the Mayor.
The Fire Chief shall see that all City ordinances and all state laws
relating to fire protection in the City are enforced and that the
required inspections are made. The Fire Chief shall be responsible
for the efficiency of the Fire Department and all members working
under his/her direction.
B. Filling of vacancy in office.
(1) A vacancy in the office of Fire Chief shall be filled by the Police
and Fire Commission. Other officers shall be chosen in the manner
provided by the Department Administrative Standard Operating Guidelines
(SOG). Upon creation of a vacancy in the office of Fire Chief, the
ranking officer shall perform the duties of the Fire Chief until such
vacancy has been filled.
(2) Upon appointment, the Fire Chief shall immediately assume office
and shall hold office until his or her successor is appointed. The
Fire Chief shall reside within 15 miles of the City.
C. General supervision. The Fire Chief shall have the responsibility
of overall supervision of the Department and personnel assigned to
the Department, which shall be subject to and not to conflict with
this chapter. The Fire Chief shall be responsible for all activities
within the Department, as well as the personnel, Department budget
and general efficiency of the Department. The Fire Chief shall perform
such other duties as are usually incumbent upon the commanding officer
of a fire department and as are detailed in the job description for
this position.
D. Presiding officer. The Fire Chief or a designee shall preside at
all meetings of the Department, call special meetings, preserve order,
decide all points of order that may arise and enforce a rigid observance
of this chapter.
E. Command responsibility. The Fire Chief shall have command of and
entire responsibility for all firefighting operations, shall plan
the control of the same, direct the action of the Department when
at a fire, shall grant leaves and/or release personnel and equipment
from the scene of an emergency when appropriate. In the absence of
the Fire Chief, the next highest ranking officer or, in the absence
of an officer, the most senior member of the Department shall be in
charge and shall have the same authority and responsibility at incidents
as the Fire Chief.
F. Department report. The Fire Chief shall submit a written report to
the Council each month relating to the condition of the various pieces
of apparatus and appurtenances, the number of fires occurring since
the previous report, the date of same and loss occasioned thereby,
the total number of active members in the Department and resignations
and expulsions from the Department. The Fire Chief shall also report
upon the drill and training program of the Department, together with
other pertinent information, including recommendations of such improvements
as he/she deems proper and necessary for the operation of the Department.
G. Enforcement of fire prevention laws. The Fire Chief or his/her designee
shall enforce all fire prevention ordinances of this City and state
laws and regulations pertaining to fire prevention and shall keep
citizens informed of fire prevention methods and of the activities
of the Department.
H. Additional duties. The Fire Chief shall perform such other duties
as are incumbent on the commanding officer of the Fire Department.
A. Legal custodian. The Fire Chief is the legal custodian of the reports,
records and property within the Department.
B. Fire reports. Per § 101.141, Wis. Stats., the Department
shall maintain a record of all fires. The Department shall participate
in the Wisconsin Fire Reporting System, supplying data collected to
the Department of Safety and Professional Services. Fire reports shall
be maintained a minimum of seven years.
A. Pursuant to § 213.095, Wis. Stats., the Fire Chief or other
officer acting as the incident commander at the scene of a fire, emergency
medical call or other emergency where the Department has been called
to perform service to persons or property shall have the authority
to do the following:
(1) Suppress any disorder and order all individuals or companies to leave
the neighborhood of any fire, emergency medical incident or other
emergency.
(2) Command from the inhabitants of the City all necessary assistance
for the suppression of fires and the preservation of property exposed
to fire and the necessary assistance for rendering aid during an emergency
medical incident or other emergencies.
(3) Enter any property or premises to do whatever may be reasonably necessary
in the performance of the officer's duties while engaged in the
work of extinguishing any fire or performing any duties incidental
thereto and/or while engaged in the work of aiding persons or minimizing
the loss to property at an emergency medical incident or other emergency.
B. The incident commander conducting operations in connection with the
extinguishment and control of any fire, explosion or other emergency
shall have the authority to direct all operations of fire extinguishment
or control and to take the necessary precautions to save life, protect
property, and prevent further injury or damage. During such operation,
including the investigation of the cause of such emergency, the incident
commander shall be permitted to control or prohibit the approach to
the scene of such emergency by any vehicle, vessel or person.
C. No person shall obstruct the operations of the Department in connection
with extinguishing or control of any fire or actions relative to other
emergencies or disobey any lawful command of the incident commander
in charge of the emergency or any part thereof or any lawful order
of a police officer assisting the Department.
D. The incident commander in charge of an emergency scene shall have
the authority to establish barriers to control access in the vicinity
of such emergency and to place, or cause to be placed, ropes, guards,
barricades, or other obstructions across any street or alley to delineate
such emergency scene barrier. No person, except as authorized by the
incident commander in charge of the emergency or his or her designee,
shall be permitted to cross such barriers.
E. The incident commander in charge of an emergency scene shall have
the authority to have property damaged by fire or other emergency
barricaded or otherwise protected from persons or the elements. The
expense of such preventative action shall be borne by the property
owner.
A. The Fire Chief shall have control of all apparatus used by the Department
and shall be responsible for its proper maintenance. Emergency repairs
may be authorized by the Fire Chief.
B. No person shall willfully damage or injure in any manner, or interfere
with the operation of, any hose, hydrant or fire apparatus belonging
to the City, and no vehicle shall be driven over any unprotected hose
of the Fire Department when laid down on any street, private driveway
or other place to be used at any fire or alarm of fire without the
consent of the Fire Department official in command.
C. If a person or organization requests a dedicated firefighting apparatus
for an event, or such apparatus is otherwise required for such event,
the requester or event organizer shall be charged a fire apparatus
standby fee in an amount established by the Public Safety Committee.
The fee shall be paid at least five days prior to the event.
[Added 10-16-2017 by Ord.
No. 10-17-691]
Fire Chief to be a Deputy of the Department of Safety and Professional
Services. Pursuant to § 101.14, Wis. Stats., adopted herein,
the Fire Chief is a Deputy of the Department of Safety and Professional
Services. The Fire Chief is responsible for the enforcement of the
state codes adopted within this chapter.
A. The Fire Chief shall hold the office of Fire Inspector, with power
to appoint one or more Deputy Fire Inspectors, who shall perform the
same duties and have the same powers as the Fire Inspector.
B. The Fire Inspector shall inspect or cause to be inspected semiannually
all buildings, including their premises, designed for occupancy by
more than two families, and all buildings, premises and public thoroughfares
open to the public within the City limits for the purpose of noting
and causing to be corrected any conditions liable to cause fire. The
Inspector shall also investigate the storage and handling of explosives
and flammable liquids within the City.
C. Whenever in the City any inspection of the Fire Inspector or his/her deputies reveals a fire hazard, the Fire Inspector or his/her deputies shall serve a notice in writing upon the owner of the property to correct the hazard within a reasonable period of time. If the fire hazard is not removed within the time allowed, it shall constitute a nuisance. The Fire Inspector or a deputy may have the same removed, and the cost of such removal may be recovered in an action against the owner of the property and shall be a lien against such property. Such owner shall in addition be subject to forfeiture under §
1-4 of this Code for each fire hazard.
D. The Fire Inspector shall keep a written record on each property inspected,
which record shall conform to the requirements of the Department of
Safety and Professional Services, and shall make the report of inspections
required by the Department.
E. No person shall deny the Fire Inspector or any deputies free access
to any property within the City at any reasonable time for the purpose
of making fire inspections (one- and two-family dwellings are exempt).
No person shall hinder or obstruct the Fire Inspector or any deputies
in the performance of their duties or refuse to observe any lawful
direction given by them.
F. Special inspection warrant. If consent for entry to personal or real
properties which are not public buildings or to portions of public
buildings which are not open to the public has been denied, the Fire
Inspector shall obtain a special inspection warrant under § 66.0119,
Wis. Stats.
G. Correction of hazards. At such time as the Fire Inspector identifies
a violation or fire hazard, the Fire Inspector shall serve notice
in writing upon the owner of the property, giving such owner a reasonable
time in which to remove the hazard. However, where an extreme or hazardous
condition exists which, for the protection of the public, must be
corrected or removed immediately, the Fire Inspector shall have the
authority to take such steps as may be necessary to protect the public
and property, including closing and the vacating of a building, structure
or premises. If the owner fails to comply with the order to correct
the hazard within the time allowed, it shall constitute a nuisance.
The Fire Inspector shall also have the authority to take such steps
as may be necessary, including obtaining appropriate court orders,
to enforce any order of the Fire Inspector correcting a hazardous
or potential fire condition. The Fire Inspector may also have a hazard
corrected or removed by the City. The cost of such correction or removal
shall be recovered by the City against the property owner and may
be entered in the tax roll as a special charge against the property.
H. Compliance. No building or structure or any part of a building or structure, land, water or air space within the City shall be used or occupied, and no building or structure within the City shall be constructed, placed, moved, extended, reconstructed, structurally altered or repaired or converted to a new use, and no site development work shall be conducted in the City, except in full compliance with this chapter, Chapter
232, Fires and Fire Prevention, all other applicable City ordinances and codes, all applicable decisions, orders, permits and other approvals made or issued pursuant thereto, and all other applicable federal, state or local laws, statutes, ordinances, rules or regulations.