The office of fire marshal is created. Such office shall be
within the fire department, under the supervision of the fire chief
and reporting directly to the chief. Such office shall be classified
and filled according to the rules and regulations of the civil service
commission. The fire marshal shall be properly qualified for the duties
of his or her office and shall receive an annual salary as provided
under the civil service rate of pay.
(1990 Code, sec. 7.1401)
The fire marshal shall investigate the cause, origin and circumstances
of every fire occurring within the city by which property has been
destroyed or damaged and shall especially make investigation as to
whether such fire was the result of carelessness or design. Such investigation
shall be begun within twenty-four (24) hours, not including Sunday,
of the occurrence of such fire. The fire marshal shall keep in his
or her office a record of the fires occurring within the city, together
with all facts, statistics and circumstances, including the origin
of the fires and the amount of the loss, which may be determined by
the investigation required by this section. Such record shall at all
times be open to public inspection.
(1990 Code, sec. 7.1402)
The fire marshal, when in his or her opinion further investigation
is necessary, shall take or cause to be taken the testimony, on oath,
of all persons supposed to be cognizant of any facts or to have means
of knowledge in relation to the matter as to which an examination
is herein required to be made, and shall cause the same to be reduced
to writing; and if he or she shall be of the opinion that there is
evidence sufficient to charge any person with the crime of arson,
or with the attempt to commit the crime of arson, or of conspiracy
to defraud, or criminal conduct in connection with such fire, shall
cause such person to be arrested and charged with such offense or
either of them and shall furnish to the proper prosecuting attorney
all such evidence, together with the names of witnesses and all of
the information obtained by him or her including a copy of all pertinent
and material testimony taken in the case.
(1990 Code, sec. 7.1403)
The fire marshal shall have the power to summon and compel the
attendance of witnesses before him or her to testify in relation to
any matter which is by the provisions of this article a subject of
inquiry and investigation and may require the production of any book,
paper or document deemed pertinent thereto. The fire marshal is authorized
and empowered to administer oaths and affirmations to any person appearing
as witness before him or her, and false swearing in any matter or
proceeding aforesaid shall be perjury and shall be punished as such.
Any witness who refuses to be sworn, or who refuses to testify, or
who disobeys any lawful order of the fire marshal, or who fails or
refuses to produce any book, paper or document touching any matter
under examination or who is guilty of any contemptuous conduct after
being summoned to give testimony in relation to any matter under investigation,
as aforesaid, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and it shall
be the duty of the fire marshal to make complaint against said persons
so refusing to comply with the summons or order of the fire marshal
before any justice of the peace, police magistrate, or in any court
of record within the city, and upon filing of such complaint such
cause shall proceed in the same manner as other criminal cases.
(1990 Code, sec. 7.1404)
(b)
All
investigations held by or under the direction of the fire marshal
may, in his or her discretion, be private, and persons other than
those required to be present may be excluded from the place where
such investigation is held, and witnesses may be kept separate and
apart from each other until they have been examined.
(1990 Code, sec. 7.1405)
The fire marshal shall have the authority at all times of day
or night, in the performance of the duties imposed upon him or her
by the provisions of this article, to enter upon and examine any building
or premises where any fire has occurred, and other buildings and premises
adjoining or near the same.
(1990 Code, sec. 7.1406)
The fire marshal, upon complaint of any person having an interest
in any building or property adjacent, and without any complaint, shall
have the right at all reasonable hours, for the purpose of examination,
to enter into and upon all buildings and premises within the city,
and it shall be his or her duty, quarterly or more often, to enter
upon and make, or cause to be entered upon and made, a thorough examination
of all mercantile, manufacturing and public buildings, together with
the premises belonging thereto.
(1990 Code, sec. 7.1407)
Whenever he or she shall find any building or other structure
which, for want of repair, or by reason of age or dilapidated condition,
or for any cause, is especially liable to fire, and which is so situated
as to endanger other buildings or property, or so occupied that fire
would endanger persons or property therein, and whenever he or she
shall find an improper or dangerous arrangement of stoves, ranges,
furnaces or other heating appliances of any kind whatsoever, including
chimneys, flues and pipes with which the same may be connected, or
a dangerous or unlawful storage of explosives, compounds, petroleum,
kerosene, dangerous chemicals, vegetable products, ashes, combustible,
inflammable and refuse materials, or other conditions which, in his
or her opinion, may be dangerous in character or liable to cause or
promote fire or create conditions dangerous to the firefighters or
occupants, he or she shall order the same to be removed, or remedied,
and such order shall be forthwith complied with by the owner or occupants
of said building or premises; provided, however, if the owner or occupant
deems himself or herself aggrieved by such order, he or she may within
five (5) days appeal to the city manager, which shall investigate
the cause of the complaint, and unless the order is revoked such order
shall remain in force and be forthwith complied with by such owner
or occupant. Any owner or occupant of buildings or premises failing
to comply with the orders of the authorities above specified shall
be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(1990 Code, sec. 7.1408; Ordinance
adopting Code)
