[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the Borough
of Avon-by-the-Sea 1-1-57 by Ord. No. 86. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Amended 8-27-1979 by Ord. No. 7-1979; 6-16-95 by Ord.
No. 17-1995]
There is hereby authorized and established the Fire Department
of the Borough of Avon-by-the-Sea, consisting of a Chief, a Deputy
Chief, a Captain, a First Lieutenant, a Second Lieutenant and other
designated titles and such firemen as may be approved by the Department
and the Board of Commissioners. Said officers shall constitute a Board
of Fire Officers, and said Fire Department shall consist of one (1)
company. Its members shall be assignable by the Chief to service on
specific Department apparatus.
[Amended 3-28-73 by Ord. No. 4-1973; 8-27-1979 by Ord. No.
7-1979; 8-14-95 by Ord. No. 20-1995; 9-23-13 by Ord. No. 5-2013; 11-8-2021 by Ord. No. 29-2021]
No person shall hereafter become a member of the Fire Department
of the Borough of Avon-by-the-Sea or any unit thereof unless he or
she is above the age of 18 years and not over the age of 57 years.
Applicant must be a resident of the Borough, or contiguous town, to
include Belmar, Neptune, Neptune City or Bradley Beach, or be an immediate
family member of an active, exempt, or life member in good standing
of the Avon Fire Department (immediate family member is defined for
this purpose as child, grandchild, parent, niece, nephew, or sibling).
If an applicant is a non-Avon resident, and meets the requirements
herein, he or she must permanently reside within a five-mile radius
of the Borough of Avon-by-the-Sea.
[Amended 8-14-95 by Ord. No. 20-1995]
Every person seeking to join the Fire Department shall make
application to the company upon a Department form with appropriate
fee signed by one (1) member, and, upon his acceptance by the Application
Committee of the Department, he shall become a member in good standing
of the Fire Department after confirmation by the Board of Commissioners,
and his name shall be entered on a roll of firemen kept by the Municipal
Clerk. Every member of the Fire Department shall receive a metallic
badge, a certificate of membership and an identification card. The
certificate of membership shall be furnished to the Chief by the Borough
Clerk and shall be delivered to the member. The term of service of
each member of the Department shall be from the date of approval by
the Board of Commissioners.
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Section 3, which immediately followed
this section, was deleted 8-27-1979 by Ord. No. 7-1979.
[Added 9-13-93 by Ord. No. 25-1993]
A.
This chapter is enacted pursuant to N.J.S. 40:42-1 et seq. The Home
Rule Act which directs municipalities to act for the health, welfare,
and safety of its citizens and to implement N.J.S. 15:8-1.1.
B.
Membership in a volunteer fire company or first aid squad means membership in a volunteer fire company or first aid squad organized pursuant to Title 15 of the Revised Statutes or Title 15A of the New Jersey Statutes, membership in a volunteer fire company or first aid squad or similar organization constituted in a fire district pursuant to N.J.S. 40A:14-70.1, membership in a junior fire fighter's auxiliary established pursuant to N.J.S. 40A:14-95, or unpaid membership in a part-paid fire department or force established pursuant to Chapter 14 of Title 40A of the New Jersey Statutes.
C.
Any person desiring membership in a volunteer fire company or first
aid squad shall complete in duplicate, filing the same with the volunteer
fire company or first aid squad, an application the form of which
may be prescribed by the volunteer fire company or first aid squad,
but which shall contain the following information about the applicant:
(1)
Name;
(2)
Home address;
(3)
Birth date;
(4)
Social Security Number;
(5)
Driver's License Number;
(7)
Any conviction of N.J.S. 2C:33-3 False Public Alarms;
(8)
Any conviction of a crime or disorderly persons violation;
(9)
Such other information as the Volunteer Fire Company or First Aid
Squad deems relevant to the application provided none of such information
is prohibited by law.
D.
Following the filing of such application, the volunteer fire company
or first aid squad shall transmit one of the applications to the Chief
of Police of the Borough of Avon-by-the-Sea who shall conduct an investigation
to ascertain the truth of the statements made by the applicant upon
his/her application and any such other investigation of the applicant's
background as he deems necessary for the protection of the public
good. If as the result of such investigation the applicant is found
to have been convicted of N.J.S. 2C:17-1 a, b, c, or/and d or N.J.S.
2C:33-3 or any other crime or disorderly persons violation or any
other information that would indicate the applicant may be a threat
to the health, safety, or welfare of the community, the Chief of Police
shall report such information and the particulars thereof to the volunteer
fire company or first aid squad.
E.
In connection with said investigation, the applicant shall submit
to fingerprinting, and the Chief of Police is authorized to submit
the applicant's fingerprint card and receive state criminal history
record information from the Division of State Police/State Bureau
of Identification for use in considering the suitability of all applicants
covered under this Ordinance.
F.
The above investigation by the Chief of Police or designee shall
be completed within thirty (30) days of receipt of the results of
the application and the fingerprinting of applicant.
The Board of Fire Officers shall adopt regulations for the operation
of the Board and the Department.
[Amended 8-27-1979 by Ord. No. 7-1979; 4-9-96 by Ord.
No. 9-1996]
The election of officers will be held the third Wednesday of
November from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Only members qualified will be
eligible for office. All voting will be by printed ballot.
[Amended 8-27-1979 by Ord. No. 7-1979]
No member shall be eligible for the office of Chief unless he
has served a minimum of two (2) years as an officer in the Avon Fire
Department. No member shall be eligible for the office of Deputy Chief
unless he has served a minimum of one (1) year as an officer in the
Avon Fire Department. No member shall be eligible for the office of
Captain, First Lieutenant or Second Lieutenant unless he has served
a minimum of one (1) year in the Avon Fire Department.
It shall be the duty of the firemen of the company, upon the
alarm of fire, to proceed to the firehouse and place themselves under
the direction of the officer in charge.
The Chief shall have the general supervision of the Department
in accordance with such rules and bylaws for the government and regulations
of the Department.
In the absence of the Chief and Deputy Chief from a fire, the
ranking fire officer present shall assume the duties of the Chief
until the arrival of his superior officer.
[Amended 8-27-1979 by Ord. No. 7-1979]
The Chief shall report monthly to the Board of Commissioners
the condition of the apparatus, the number of fires during the month,
their location and cause and the loss occasioned, plus a roll call
of members attending fires. Reports shall be submitted by the second
monthly meeting of the Board of Commissioners.
[Amended 8-27-1979 by Ord. No. 7-1979]
It shall be the duty of the Chief to see that all new hose is
annually subjected to a test of two hundred (200) pounds' hydrostatic
pressure and that all other hose is annually tested at one hundred
twenty-five (125) pounds' hydrostatic pressure.
It shall be the duty of any fireman at a fire or drill to report
to the Chief any equipment found to be defective.
It shall be the duty of the Chief to call out the company for
practice drill at least once each month. The Chief shall arrange a
training program to include all modern methods of fire fighting.
[Amended 8-27-1979 by Ord. No. 7-1979]
The Board of Fire Officers and Board-appointed engineers shall
be charged with the duty of maintaining the apparatus in good condition
and ready for immediate use.
No member of the company shall be permitted to adjust or repair
any apparatus unless directed to do so by the Chief or, in his absence,
the Deputy Chief.
It shall be the duty of the Chief to make a permanent record
of all reports of defective, inoperative or improperly set fire hydrants,
and he shall submit a report of the same to the Board of Commissioners.
The Chief and his assistants or officers in command at any fire
are hereby clothed with full and complete police authority and are
hereby authorized to remove any obstructions around fire hydrants
and to call upon the head of any municipal department for assistance
in such removal.
[Added 7-27-92 by Ord. No. 18-1992].
Fire police shall not exceed fifteen (15) in number at any one
time. No member working on state quota for exemption shall be appointed
a fire police. All previous appointments shall continue in effect
until expiration of current time in service. Fire police shall be
governed by state statute governing same.
Every person, not a fireman, who shall be present at a fire
shall be subject to the orders of the Chief or any member of the Department
acting under authority in extinguishing the fire, in preserving order
and in the removal and protection of property.
A.
Any fireman who is chargeable with misconduct or negligence of his
duties as a fireman shall be reported to the Board of Fire Officers
and the Board of Commissioners. The Board of Fire Officers shall conduct
a hearing on the charges and decide the guilt or innocence of such
fireman, and disciplinary action shall be taken in accordance with
the regulations. The person accused and the accuser shall be given
ample opportunity to be heard. The person making the accusation and
the accused must be present at the hearing after being given notice.
If the accuser fails to appear without sufficient reason, the charge
shall be dropped. If the accused fails to appear without sufficient
reason, the hearing will proceed and the accused shall be subject
to the decision of the Board.
B.
The Board of Commissioners shall be notified of the decision of the
Board of Fire Officers if the accused is to be expelled; otherwise,
the record shall remain the property of the Board of Fire Officers.
C.
In the event of a decision of expulsion, the accused shall have the
right of appeal to the Board of Commissioners, who shall either confirm
the action of the Board of Fire Officers or refer the same back to
them for a retrial.
D.
In the event that a retrial is ordered by the Board of Commissioners,
the decision arrived at by the Board of Fire Officers at such retrial
shall be final, conclusive and not subject to appeal to the Board
of Commissioners.
All requests for repairs or supplies for the company shall be
made by the Board of Fire Officers to the Board of Commissioners for
action. In case any apparatus shall become so disabled that immediate
repairs of a minor nature are necessary, the Chief is hereby empowered
to have the same repaired at once, as long as said repairs do not
exceed the sum of one hundred dollars ($100).
Immediate reports shall be made, in writing, to the Board of
Commissioners of any accident, injury, sickness or disease caused
by or as a result of attending a fire, drill or social function of
the Fire Department.
All members in good standing of any recognized fire company
heretofore existing in the Borough of Avon-by-the-Sea shall automatically
become members of the consolidated fire company affected by this chapter
without loss of any benefit or credit toward exemption.
[Amended 3-28-73 by Ord. No. 4-1973; 8-27-1979 by Ord. No.
7-1979]
Exemption certificates shall be issued to members of the Fire
Department who shall have served seven (7) years of active service,
defined as attendance at sixty percent (60%) of fires and/or drills,
under municipal control, as required by laws of July 1, 1971.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40A:14-56 and 14-59.
[Added 12-28-2021 by Ord. No. 35-2021]
The Board of Commissioners of the Borough of Avon-by-the-Sea
hereby implements a stipend program for the recruitment and retention
of volunteer members to be administrated consistent with the rules
and regulations as resolved by the Board of Commissions. The stipend
program may be modified and/or terminated by resolution of the Board
of Commissioners.
