[Adopted as Ch. 12, Arts. II and III, of
the 1963 City Code (Ch. 31 of the 1980 Code)]
No piece of apparatus belonging to the Fire
Department of the City shall be sent out of the City except for repairs,
and no fireman shall be sent out of the City on fire duty, except
by the authority and direction of the Mayor, provided that in the
case of a serious fire in another city or town and when assistance
is called for, the Fire Chief may, in his discretion, if the Mayor
is absent or cannot readily be communicated with, send such apparatus
and such firemen as he may deem necessary or expedient, reporting
his action to the Mayor as soon as possible thereafter.
[Amended 7-10-2007 by Doc. 76]
No person shall ride or drive any vehicle over
or across any hose or other apparatus in use at a fire or at a place
to which the Fire Department has been summoned upon an alarm of fire.
[Amended 7-10-2007 by Doc. 76]
The Fire Chief shall keep, or cause to be kept,
exact rolls of the several companies and of all other members or employees
of the Fire Department, specifying the name, age, residence and date
of admission, discharge, promotion, resignation or death of each officer,
member or employee of the Department, including, in the case of call
members and volunteer members, a record of the occupation and place
of occupation of each.
[Amended 7-10-2007 by Doc. 76]
The Fire Chief shall have the charge and custody
of all the property and apparatus pertaining to the Fire Department;
shall make, or cause to be made, inspections of the houses, apparatus
and other property of the Department at least once a week, to the
end that it may always be in good condition and repair and ready for
immediate service; and shall at all times be responsible for such
good condition of all property and for the discipline and good order
of the officers and employees of the Department.
The Fire Chief shall keep, or cause to be kept,
an accurate and complete record of all property belonging to the Fire
Department and an accurate account of all receipts and expenses thereof,
all such records and accounts to be at all times subject to the inspection
of the Mayor, the City Council and the Auditor of Accounts.
[Amended 7-10-2007 by Doc. 76]
The Fire Chief shall devote his whole time to
the duties of his office and shall not engage in any other business
while in office. He shall not leave the City without first notifying
the on-duty Deputy Chief, nor leave the City for more than 24 hours
without first notifying the Mayor. During such absence from the City,
the on-duty Deputy Chief shall act in his place with his full powers
and duties. No on-duty Deputy Chief shall leave the City except by
permission of the Fire Chief.
[Amended 7-10-2007 by Doc. 76]
The Fire Chief shall have sole and absolute
control and command of all officers and members of the Department
and of all other persons at fires and shall have the authority to
establish a barrier line or limit of approach at any place or places
within the City at which a fire may be or has been in progress, to
be known as and called a "fire line." In case of the absence of the
Fire Chief from a fire, the on-duty Deputy Chief present thereat shall,
during such absence, have and exercise all the power and authority
of the Fire Chief and shall perform all the duties of his office.
The senior member or officer first arriving at a fire shall exercise
such authority and perform such duties until the arrival of a superior
officer.
[Amended 7-10-2007 by Doc. 76]
It shall be the duty of the Fire Chief, or his designee, to examine or cause to be examined all buildings and other places in which he may have knowledge or be informed that combustible materials, as defined by MGL c. 148, may be collected or deposited or be kept in an insecure or illegal manner, and he shall direct the tenant or occupant of any such place or building to remove or otherwise safely dispose of such combustible materials. In case such tenant or occupant shall refuse or neglect to do so, the Fire Chief or designee shall remove or cause to be removed the same at the expense of such tenant or occupant, who, for such neglect or refusal as above stated, shall also be subject to a penalty as provided in § 1-16 of the Code.
[Amended 7-10-2007 by Doc. 76]
It shall be the duty of the Fire Chief or designee to examine personally any place or building of which he may have knowledge or be informed in which the funnels, flues, chimneys, fireboards or heating apparatus are in an insecure or dangerous state and to give the owner or occupant thereof written notice of the changes, alterations or repairs which, in his opinion, the public safety may require. Any person who shall refuse or neglect to make such changes, alterations or repairs when so notified and required, or shall prevent or attempt to prevent the examination aforesaid, or shall obstruct the Fire Chief or designee in any way in carrying out the provisions of this section, shall be subject to the penalty prescribed in § 1-16 of the Code.
It shall be the duty of the Fire Chief to report in writing to the Chief of Police and to the Inspector of Buildings any and every violation of any ordinance establishing a fire district or regulating the construction of buildings which may come to his notice and to cause to be prosecuted every person who shall intentionally raise a false alarm of fire or who shall violate any of the provisions of § 32-4, 32-10 or 32-11 of this article or § 141-41 of the Code of the City of Haverhill, as relates to the fire alarm telegraph system.
The Fire Chief shall have general charge and
superintendence of the fire alarm telegraph system and shall select
the persons to whom shall be entrusted the keys of any of the signal
boxes of the system.
The Fire Chief shall see that the City landings
are kept in condition at all times to admit of the unobstructed operation
of the Fire Department and shall have full power to cause to be removed
any goods, merchandise, vehicles or other obstructions from the same
when, in his judgment, such removal will promote the public safety.
No person shall at any time leave any goods, wares, merchandise, vehicles
or other obstructions upon any such landing for a period of more than
24 hours.
It shall be the duty of the Fire Chief, whenever
in his judgment the needs of the City or the safety of the public
require, to recommend in writing to the City Council the establishment
or repair of new or existing lands or of places for the procuring
of water by the Fire Department in case of fire along a river front,
and he shall keep or cause to be kept a record of all such places
when established and shall have the same power and exercise the same
duties in regard to such places as he has and may exercise in regard
to City landings.
The Fire Chief shall from time to time consult
with the Mayor with reference to the needs of the Fire Department
concerning which action on the part of the City Council may be necessary.
All the general orders of the Fire Chief and,
whenever practicable, all special orders made and issued by him shall
be in writing, and a record shall be kept of the same.
The Fire Chief shall have authority to designate
from among the permanent men of the Fire Department a driver for the
Chief's conveyance.
The Fire Chief shall annually, in July, make
to the Mayor a full and complete report of the condition of the Fire
Department, together with a statement of all the property under his
charge and of the money received and expended in and by the Department
during the municipal year next preceding the first day of July. This
report shall include a detailed statement of the losses and accidents
by fire during the year, a description of the buildings and other
property injured or destroyed, the estimated value thereof, the amount
of insurance thereon and the names of the owners. The report shall
be incorporated in the report required to be made annually to the
City Council by the Mayor.
[Added 8-24-1971 by Doc. 198-B; amended 7-10-2007 by Doc. 76]
Whenever any member of the Haverhill Fire Department
Underwater Rescue Team is engaged in an authorized rescue, recovery
or training, including travel to and from such activity, they shall
come within the protection of all laws and be extended the same coverage
and privileges as on-duty fire fighters.
[Added 11-30-1982 by Doc. 203; amended 4-21-1992 by Doc. 65; 2-10-2004 by Doc. 23]
Any person who receives an appointment to the
Haverhill Fire Department shall maintain his residence within the
City of Haverhill or at any other place within the commonwealth that
is within 10 miles of the perimeter of said City of Haverhill.
[Added 5-5-1992 by Doc. 76]
The Fire Chief shall have the power to set fees
for all licenses, permits and inspections to be procured from or conducted
by the Fire Department. The fees shall become effective upon approval
by an order of the City Council and shall be consistent with the provisions
of applicable law.
[Added 4-30-2002 by Doc. 14]
A.
Any person appointed to the Fire Department, whether
to a regular or reserve position, after the effective date of this
section, must be certified upon appointment in one of the following
three levels: Emergency Medical Technician — Basic, Emergency
Medical Technician — Intermediate, or Emergency Medical Technician
— Paramedic. In addition, any person appointed to the Fire Department,
whether to a regular or reserve position, after the effective date
of this section, must have a valid Massachusetts motor vehicle operator's
license.
B.
Upon appointment to the Fire Department, an individual
must present proof of current certification as a emergency medical
technician issued by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health,
Office of Emergency Medical Services, and a valid Massachusetts motor
vehicle operator's license effective November 1, 2002, and all candidates
prior to taking the exam shall be notified.
C.
Any such person appointed to the Fire Department shall
maintain an emergency medical technician certification and a valid
Massachusetts motor vehicle operator's license as long as he or she
remains a member of the Fire Department.
D.
A veteran shall be as defined by civil service law,
and each candidate shall have one year after his or her appointment
as a reserve to meet the certified requirement of this section.
[Amended 7-10-2007 by Doc. 76]
