[Ord. 8/5/1912, § 1; as amended by Ord. 1969-10,
5/5/1969, § 1]
The Forty Fort Fire Company No. 1 shall constitute and be the
Fire Department of the Borough of Forty Fort; the said company shall
consist of the Chief, Foreman, Assistant Foreman, Driver and such
other officers and members as shall from time to time be elected;
on the last Saturday night of the month in which the ordinance is
enacted into law, and on the last Saturday night of each and every
January thereafter, the said company shall, at its regular meeting,
by ballot, vote for and elect said Chief, Foreman, Assistant Foreman,
Driver to hold office for the term of one year or until the next election
shall certify to the Borough Council for approval the names of those
who have been so elected to said offices, and when the said election
has by the said Council been satisfied and approved the aforesaid
officers shall constitute and be the officials of the said Fire Department
until their successors are duly elected and approved.
[Ord. 8/5/1912, § 2]
Should a vacancy occur by resignation, death or removal from
the Borough, of any of the said officers, the Fire Company shall immediately
meet and select from the members of the said Fire Company, a fit and
competent person whose selection when ratified by Council shall constitute
him such officer until the next annual election and approval of officers.
[Ord. 8/5/1912, § 3]
No person shall be eligible to any of the above offices until
he has been a resident for three months immediately preceding the
election.
[Ord. 8/5/1912, § 4]
All the firefighting apparatus purchased by the said Borough
shall be entrusted to the said Fire Department of said Borough and
under its exclusive control. Provided; however, that the Fire Committee
of Council shall have the right at all times to inspect the same and
in case of misuse by the Fire Company, of the said property, then
the said Council may by ordinance, take from the said Company the
said property.
[Ord. 8/5/1912, § 5]
It shall be the duty of the said Chief of the Department to
be present at all fires and attend to the alarms as soon as it is
possible for him to do so; to superintend and direct the operations
of the said Fire Department. He shall have full and absolute control
of all men, apparatus and streets and shall issue and enforce all
orders as in his judgment he shall deem best for the protection of
property and extinguishment of fires and the welfare of the Department.
He shall have the power to suspend any of the members of the Department
for misconduct, insubordination and disobedience of orders. Provided,
however, any person so suspended shall have the right of appeal to
the next meeting of Council where all persons shall have the right
to be heard, whereupon the Council shall decide as to them as shall
seem just and right.
[Ord. 8/5/1912, § 6]
The said Chief shall also exercise general supervision over
the fire alarm system and shall test the same at least once each week.
He shall be responsible to the Council for the proper condition and
maintenance of the said apparatus; he shall report to the Council
through the Chairman of the Fire Committee whatever repairs, supplies
etc., may be necessary for the Department and shall annually on the
first Monday night of February give a report in writing of the condition
of the Fire Department, as to its members on the active list, its
fighting apparatus, and a statement of all fires and alarms of fire
that occurred during the previous year, the origin of the same, the
value of the property destroyed, the insurance thereon, if any, and
as soon as possible after passage of this Part, he shall make and
give an inventory of all property, of the said Department to the Council.
[Ord. 8/5/1912, § 7]
The Foreman shall be subordinate to the Chief, and in his absence
shall, at all fires have full charge and control. He shall be next
in authority to the Chief, and shall quarterly at least, inspect the
fire plugs of the Borough and see that they are in proper condition,
and not obstructed, and report at once to the Fire Committee any obstruction
found therein. He shall also report to the Chief of the Department,
the dates when and the condition of each plug at the time of each
inspection.
[Ord. 8/5/1912, § 8]
The Assistant Foreman shall assist the Chief and Foreman and
shall see that all the orders of the superior officers are carried
out, and in the absence of his superiors, he shall perform their duties.
[Ord. 8/5/1912, § 9; as amended by Ord. 1969-10,
5/5/1969, § 2]
The Driver shall have charge of the fire apparatus, when purchased;
they shall be qualified Drivers and shall be present as quickly as
possible after the alarm shall be given, and shall operate the said
fire apparatus under the command and direction of the Chief and his
assistant. They shall have charge of and be at all times responsible
for the condition of the fire apparatus purchased and intrusted to
them by Council, and shall inspect the same at least once each week
to see that the same is in proper condition and report the results
of the inspection to the Chief. No other person except the Driver
shall meddle with or work around said vehicle except under his immediate
orders. He shall not in his inspection leave the limits of the Borough
except under the order of the Chief or his assistants. The word "Driver"
shall include all Drivers, in the plural, hired by the Forty Fort
Borough Council.
[Ord. 8/5/1912, § 10]
No person shall be a member of the Fire Department of Forty
Fort Borough until he has reached the age of 18 years.
[Ord. 8/5/1912, § 11]
It is understood that this Part is being passed so that the
Fire Department of Forty Fort Borough shall cooperate with the fire
departments of the various Boroughs of the West Side, which shall
have passed similar legislation to this, to the end that the several
firefighting forces in case of general alarms shall respond and fight
fires which may occur within their limits, and to that end the Fire
Chief and Fire Committee of Forty Fort Borough are appointed as a
general committee to meet with the various committees of the respective
Boroughs and agree on a general alarm for fires. It is understood
that the apparatus of the Forty Fort Fire Department shall not leave
the Borough limits until controlled by one of the officers named herein.
[Ord. 8/5/1912, § 13; as amended by Ord. 1969-10,
5/5/1969, § 3]
It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to tamper with
the fire alarm system, the firefighting apparatus or any part thereof,
or to maliciously raise the alarm of fire. It shall be unlawful for
any person to drive any cart, car, wagon or other vehicle over any
line of hose except by the consent of the person in charge thereof.
[Ord. 8/5/1912, § 14; as amended by Ord. 1969-10,
5/5/1969; and by Ord. 2009-8, 12/7/2009]
Wherever an alarm of fire shall be sounded within the Borough
limits, or when a general alarm has been sounded within the limits
of the Borough passing similar legislation, the fire departments of
the various Boroughs shall have exclusive right-of-way in the center
of Wyoming Avenue and on the right-hand side of all other streets
leading therefrom, and it shall be the duty of any person occupying
that portion of the street so set aside for the fire departments to
immediately vacate the same so that the right-of-way herein set forth
shall be uninterrupted. Any person, firm or corporation who shall
violate any provision of this Part, upon conviction thereof, shall
be sentenced to a fine of not more than $1,000 plus costs and, in
default of payment of said fine and costs, to a term of imprisonment
not to exceed 30 days. Each day that a violation of this Part continues
or each section of this Part which shall be found to have been violated
shall constitute a separate offense.
[Ord. 8/5/1912, § 15; as amended by Ord. 2009-8,
12/7/2009]
Should any repairs to the fire apparatus be absolutely necessary
between the meetings of the Borough Council, the Fire Committee of
Council is hereby empowered to spend an amount as established from
time to time by resolution of Borough Council.
