This article shall be entitled "Regulations
to Maintain, Regulate and Control a Department to be Hereafter Known
and Referred to as the Town of Boonton Fire Department, the Duty of
Which shall be the Control and Prevention of Fire and the Protection
of Life and Property Within the Town of Boonton."
[Amended 10-4-2021 by Ord. No. 28-21]
A. General.
(1) Each of the companies, respectively, whenever any vacancy shall exist
in its ranks, shall notify the Board of Chiefs. Upon receipt of a
membership application from the Board of Chiefs, a company may elect,
according to its bylaws, any person between the ages of 18 and 57
years, not including that person's 58th birthday, and who resides
within a two-mile radius of either of the Town of Boonton firehouses
for a six-month continuing period of time of such confirmation for
membership in a company. The Board of Chiefs shall have the discretion
to determine compliance of the two-mile radius on any small discrepancies
of the radius measurement. The membership application shall then be
submitted to the Board of Chiefs for its approval. The Board of Chiefs
must act on the application within 10 days after receipt of same.
Upon approval by the Board of Chiefs, the application shall be submitted
to the Town Council for confirmation. If an application for membership
is denied for any reason by the Board of Chiefs or the Town Council,
the company submitting the application shall be notified before its
next regularly scheduled meeting.
[Amended 10-2-2023 by Ord. No. 16-23]
(2) A company may also elect to membership any person who has received
a certificate of exemption from another municipality, providing that
such person is a citizen and a resident of the Town for a six-month
continuing period at the time of such confirmation for membership
in the company, and provided further that the roll of the company
does not exceed 49 members.
B. Board of chiefs. Whenever a vacancy occurs on the Board of Chiefs,
through resignation, removal, death or any other cause, a special
election shall be held within 60 days to fill the vacancy, with the
provision that the remaining members shall advance their standing
to the next higher office and the election shall be held to fill the
office of Battalion Chief; with the further provision that should
this vacancy occur within 60 days of the annual election, no special
election will be held.
A Junior Fire Department may be established in conjunction with
the Fire Department. This Junior Fire Department shall be established
as a distinct entity from the Fire Department, shall be controlled
by the Fire Department and shall consist of Town of Boonton residents
at least 16 years of age, excepting that any current active member
under the age of 16 years of age will be grandfathered. Applicants
for this Junior Fire Department shall be screened by the Board of
Chiefs of the Fire Department. The Junior Fire Department shall comply
with the Municipal Joint Insurance Funds Rules for Junior Firefighters
as the same may be amended and supplemented.
A Ladies Auxiliary will be known as "The Ladies Auxiliary of
the Boonton Fire Department." This group of women shall be a separate
organization and hold their own meetings. Their role is to assist
and support the efforts of the Boonton Fire Department, including,
but not limited to, supplying refreshments and rehab at emergency
scenes. This support will be requested under the guidelines of the
on-scene incident commander. The organization will work with and fall
under the guidance of the Town of Boonton Fire Department Fire Chief.
[Added 4-6-2020 by Ord.
No. 04-2020]
A. Definitions. "Knox-Box®" shall mean
a secure rapid-entry system that is designed to be used by emergency
personnel in the event of an emergency to gain entry into a structure
by using the enclosed owner-provided key(s). This box is usually mounted
on the exterior of the building in a location that is specified by
the Fire Official. All boxes shall be UL (Underwriters' Laboratories)
certified, and approved by the Fire Official.
B. Knox-Box® required for new commercial
buildings. All new commercial buildings shall have installed a Knox-Box®, of a UL type and size approved by the Town Fire
Official, in a location specified by the Town Fire Official prior
to the issuance of a permit of occupancy.
C. Knox-Box® required for existing commercial
buildings. All existing commercial buildings equipped with automatic
fire detection and/or a suppression system shall have installed a
Knox-Box®, of a UL type and size approved
by the Town Fire Official, in a location specified by the Town Fire
Official within six months of the date of this section. For the period
of one year following the date of this section, such installation
shall be voluntary; however, after that one-year time period, such
installation shall be mandatory for all existing commercial buildings.
D. Knox-Box® required for multifamily
residential structures. All multifamily residential structures that
have restricted access through locked doors and have a common corridor
for access to the living units shall have installed a Knox-Box®, of a UL type and size approved by the Town Fire
Official, in a location specified by the Town Fire Official within
six months of the date of this section.
E. Knox-Box® contents. All Knox-Boxes® shall contain labeled keys, easily identified
to provide ready access into the property and/or building, and to
any locked areas within the said building as the Fire Official may
direct.
F. Any violation of this provisions of this section shall be liable pursuant to Chapter
1, General Provisions, Article
III, General Penalty.
[Added 9-13-2022 by Ord.
No. 15-22]
A. All new support members must serve a probationary period of one year.
During this probationary year the member must remain in good standing
with their company and the Department.
B. The Board of Chiefs will list the training requirements for a support
member in the Department S.O.G.s. If at some point in the future the
NJ Division of Fire Safety or the Morris County Fire Academy comes
out with a support member training class, all current and future support
members will be required to compete this class within one year.
C. All newly appointed support members will be required to attend 25%
of all alarms, drills and scheduled activities for a period of seven
years. During this seven-year period, the support member will be considered
a nonexempt member. If it is determined by the Board of Chiefs that
a support member has not attempted to maintain their quota, either
by the absence, lack of interest or inability to act, the Chief shall
recommend to the Town Council that the support member be dropped from
the rolls of the Boonton Fire Department.
D. All new support members will be subjected to a background check.
This check will include a criminal history check by the Boonton Police
Department as well as any other check deemed necessary by the Town
of Boonton hiring policies. The information that is gathered by these
checks will be used by the Board of Inquiry to base its decision on
a prospective member's application as a support member of the Boonton
Fire Department.
E. Any support member of the Boonton Fire Department who is convicted
of a crime of moral turpitude may be subject to forfeiture of public
office (N.J.S.A. 2C:51-2 et seq.). The Board of Chiefs, with guidance
and consultation with the Town of Boonton Attorney, will recommend
to the Mayor and Town Council that any member found in violation of
this subsection be dropped from the rolls of the Boonton Fire Department.
F. A support member must be at least 18 years old, a U.S. citizen, and
a Town of Boonton resident for at least six months prior to joining.
G. A support member will be eligible for LOSAP benefits.
H. A support member will not be required to pass a F/F 1 Course, and
therefore, they will not perform any actual firefighting duties requiring
the individual to wear an S.C.B.A.
I. A support member will not operate in any area or conditions that
would require a member to wear an S.C.B.A.
J. A support member will not be eligible to run for, or hold the office
of, Lieutenant, Captain, Battalion Chief, Deputy Chief or Chief of
the Department.
K. A support member will wear a standard firefighter dress uniform as
well as a set of turnout gear. The support member will use a standard
helmet, and the front piece will be yellow in color.
L. Each of the five companies will be allowed to have up to three support members on their rolls. These three members will county towards the 50 members of each company as outline in §
27-14B.