The Fire Department of Narberth shall consist of the Narberth
Fire Company and such additional companies as may hereafter be organized
and as the Council may, from time to time, by ordinance or resolution,
receive into the Department.
The officers of the Fire Department of Narberth shall consist
of a Chief, a Deputy Chief and Assistant Chiefs. Each of these officers
shall be over 25 years of age and an active member of at least three
years' standing in one of the companies of the Department.
[Amended 4-21-2021 by Ord. No. 1032]
A. The Fire Department of Narberth shall, in such manner as it may select,
elect and submit to the Council, before the Council's first meeting
in January of each even-numbered year or as soon thereafter as possible,
a candidate for the office of Chief of the Fire Department, who shall
also be the Fire Marshal, for confirmation by the Council. If confirmed,
the candidate shall be appointed for a two-year term and may be removable
for cause, only after trial, by the Council.
B. The Deputy Chief of the Department shall be appointed by the Chief
and shall be under the Chief's direct control.
The Council shall have the right at any time to suspend or expel
the Chief or the Deputy Chief from office for such cause as the Council
may deem sufficient. In the event of the death, removal, resignation
or failure of confirmation of the Chief by the Council, the Fire Department
shall be notified to present the name of another candidate for confirmation
within 30 days.
[Amended 4-21-2021 by Ord. No. 1032]
A. Before assuming office, the Chief and Deputy Chief shall take and
subscribe the oath required of Borough officers. When on duty, they
shall wear a badge to clearly designate their office and be as fully
equipped as circumstances permit. At fires, they shall be ex officio
members of the police force, with all the powers of the Borough police.
B. The Chief shall have complete control of the Fire Department at all
fires, directing and superintending the operations of the Department
as will best protect property from destruction by fire or by unnecessary
use of water and/or chemicals. The Chief shall prescribe rules for
the regulation of the companies, their members and apparatus at drills
and at fires going to and returning therefrom and in such other respects
as shall bear upon their discipline and efficiency. The Chief shall
have the power at fires to rope off streets when deemed necessary
and to exclude the public from the immediate vicinity of the fire
or place of danger, with authority to call upon the police for assistance
in this work. The Chief shall investigate all fires and keep a correct
record thereof, which record shall be submitted monthly to the Borough
Council and shall give the date of each fire, location thereof, how
the alarm was received, the time of the alarm, the time of the Department's
relief from service, a description of the property burned, detailed
methods of extinguishing the fire, loss and insurance details, the
name of the owner or tenant and the cause of fire, if obtainable.
C. The Chief will inspect or the Chief may designate members of the
Department to inspect, from time to time, all buildings and premises
or where accumulations of combustible material are liable to exist
and to order such changes or removals as in their opinion are necessary
to safety from fire. For the purpose of this inspection, they are
hereby empowered to enter any and all buildings and premises at any
reasonable hour within the Borough limits.
D. It shall be the duty of the Chief to call out for practice drills,
whenever the Chief deems it necessary, any or all companies for such
drills when and where the Chief may think advisable, but each company
shall be drilled and trained not less than once each month. These
drills and training will be so arranged that they will include the
proper and efficient handling of all appliances, apparatus and equipment,
plus procedures for forcible entry, salvage work, lifesaving and modern
methods of extinguishment.
E. The Deputy Chief and Assistant Chiefs shall, under the Chief's
direction, and in the case of the Chief's absence from or late
arrival at a fire, assume and perform such duties and be invested
with the same power and authority as the Chief until the Chief's
arrival.
All the companies of the Fire Department at Narberth and every
member of said companies on duty at fires shall render implicit obediences
to the orders of the Chief, Deputy Chief or other officer in charge.
[Amended 4-21-2021 by Ord. No. 1032]
It shall be the duty of the Chief or, in the Chief’s absence,
the Deputy Chief, to suspend or dismiss any member of the Department
who refuses to obey the Chief’s orders or for insubordination,
improper conduct or violation of rules, either at a fire or company
drills. Any member suspended or dismissed by the Chief may appeal
from such decision to the Narberth Fire Company, Narberth, Pennsylvania,
through its proper designated officers at its next meeting.
It shall and may be lawful for the Council to appropriate annually
to the company or companies comprising the-Fire Department of the
Borough of Narberth, Pennsylvania, such sums as in the opinion of
the Council may be right and proper.