SECTION 8-101: OPERATION AND FUNDING
The City shall provide for fire protection and emergency rescue squad service
by and through the City Fire Department, the direct management and control of
which shall be vested in the fire chief. The operation of the Fire Department
shall be divided distinctly between its two divisions, the Fire Division and
the Rescue Squad Division. The City Council, for the purpose of defraying the
cost of the management, maintenance, and improvement of the Fire Department
may levy a tax each year not exceeding the maximum limits prescribed by state
law on the actual valuation of all real estate and personal property within
the City that is sub-ject to taxation. The revenue from the said tax shall be
placed in the General Fund, which shall be in the possession of the city clerk/treasurer.
Said monies so levied and collected shall be set aside in the city budget as
the Fire Department budget and the ambulance budget, for defraying the cost
of those departments.
In addition, the Fire Department is authorized to enter into agreement with
the appropriate Rural Fire District for the mutual aid and protection of the
residents of both the City and the Rural Fire District. The agreement so entered
into shall be on file in the office of the city clerk/treasurer for public inspection
at any reason-able time. (Ref. Neb. Rev. Stat. §16-309, 19-1302)
SECTION 8-102: FIRE CHIEF
The fire chief shall manage the Fire Department and it shall be his/her duty to cause the repair, improvement or maintenance of the said equipment and shall personally supervise and approve of the same. It shall be the duty of the fire chief to come before the City Council at the regular meeting in January of each year to give an annual report to the Council of the general condition and the proposed additions or improvements recommended by him/her.
The fire chief shall be appointed and subject to removal by the mayor with
the advice and consent of the City Council and upon the recommendation of the
members of the Fire Department. He/she shall enforce all laws and ordinances
covering the prevention of fires, the storage and use of explosives and flammable
substances, the installation of fire alarm systems, the maintenance of fire
extin-guishing equipment, the regulation of fire escapes and the inspection
of all prem-ises requiring adequate fire escapes. He/she shall investigate,
within two days, the cause, origin and circumstances of fires arising within
his/her jurisdiction. He/she shall, on or before the first day in April and
October of each year, cause the secretary to file with the city clerk and the
clerk of the District Court a certified copy of the rolls of all members in
good standing in their respective companies in order to obtain the exemptions
provided by law. The fire chief shall have the power during the time of a fire
and for a period of 36 hours thereafter to arrest any suspected arsonist, or
any person for hindering the department’s efforts, conducting himself/herself
in a noisy and disorderly manner, or who shall refuse to obey any lawful order
by the fire chief or assistant fire chief. The fire chief or his/her assistant
in charge of operations at a fire may command the services of any person present
at any fire in extinguishing the same or in the removal and protection of property.
Failure to obey such an order shall be a misdemeanor punishable by a fine. The
fire chief shall have the right to enter into buildings at all reasonable hours
and upon all premises within his/her jurisdiction for the pur-pose of examining
the same for fire hazards and related dangers. (Ref. Neb. Rev. Stat. §16-222,
16-309, 18-1902, 35-102, 35-108, 81-506, 81-512)
SECTION 8-103: MEMBERSHIP
The fire department shall consist of as many members as may be decided by the City Council. Such members shall be appointed by the fire chief, and notification of new members shall be made to the City Council. All vacancies shall be filled in this manner. Said members shall be considered to be employees of the City for the purpose of providing them with workmen’s compensation and other bene-fits. The City Council shall purchase workmen’s compensation insurance and a group term life insurance policy for each active volunteer firefighter. Said life in-surance policy shall provide a minimum of $5,000.00 for death from any cause to age 65 and shall, at the option of the individual firefighter, be convertible to a permanent form of life insurance at age 65; provided that the firefighters covered are actively and faithfully performing the duties of their position.
The members may organize themselves in any way they may decide, subject to the review of the City Council. They may hold meetings and engage in social ac-tivities with the approval of the City Council. The secretary shall keep a record of all meetings and shall, upon request, make a report to the City Council of all meetings and activities of the Fire Department. The City Council may, for ser-vices rendered, compensate or reward any member or members of the Fire De-partment in an amount set by resolution. All members of the Fire Department shall be subject to such rules and regulations and shall perform such duties as may be prescribed or required of them by the fire chief or the City Council. The members of the Fire Department shall, during the time of a fire or great public danger, have and exercise the powers and duties of police officers and shall have full power and authority to arrest all persons guilty of any violation of the municipal code or the laws of the State of Nebraska; provided, however, a volun-teer firefighter or rescue squad member testifying as a witness in connection with his or her officially assigned duties in that capacity alone shall not be deemed an employee of the State of Nebraska or of the City. (Ref. Neb. Rev. Stat. §33-139.01, 35-101 through 35-103, 35-108)
SECTION 8-104: RECORDS
The fire chief shall keep or cause to be kept a record of all meetings of the
Fire Department, the attendance record of all members and a record of all fires,
and shall make a full report of such records to the city clerk during the last
week in April each year. The record of any fire shall include the cause, origin,
circum-stances, property involved and whether criminal conduct may have been
in-volved. In the event of sizable property damage, he/she shall include the
informa-tion of whether such losses were covered by insurance, and if so, in
what amount. All records shall be available to the public at any reasonable
time.
SECTION 8-105: APPOINTMENT OF TREASURERS
The treasurer of the Fire Division and the treasurer of the Rescue Squad Division
are hereby appointed to the positions of assistant city treasurers, and each
shall have the chief custody of the Fire Department's funds, monies, credits,
securities and other financial assets within their separate divisions. Each
such assistant treasurer shall report completely as to Fire Department funds
upon the call of the mayor or City Council, not less than quarterly, and shall
make available to the city auditors all information in regard to Fire Department
funds, monies, credits, securities and other financial assets within their separate
divisions.
SECTION 8-106: TREASURERS; DUTIES
Each such assistant treasurer shall, in handling funds of their separate divisions,
comply with all directions of the mayor or City Council so that the books and
ac-counts of such treasurer shall be kept in a manner complying with state laws
and consistent with the books and accounts of the City. Each such assistant
treas-urer is expressly prohibited from using either directly or indirectly
any such funds in his/her custody and keeping them for his/her own use and benefit
or the use or benefit of any person whomsoever. Each division may maintain a
petty cash fund of $500 from which expenditures may be made without the approval
of the mayor or City Council. Any violation of this section subjects such treasurer
to immediate removal from his/her office by the mayor or City Council and any
other penalty provided by law.
SECTION 8-107: FIRES
It shall be the duty of the fire department to use all proper means for the
extin-guishment of fires; to protect property within the City; and to secure
the obser-vance of all ordinances, laws, and other rules and regulations with
respect to fires and fire prevention.
SECTION 8-108: PRESERVATION OF PROPERTY
Any official of the City Fire Department shall have the power during the time
of a fire to cause the removal of any private or public property whenever it
shall be-come necessary to do so for the preservation of such property from
fire, to pre-vent the spreading of fire, or to protect adjoining property. The
said officials may direct the fire department personnel to remove any building,
erection, or fence for the purpose of checking the progress of any fire, and
the official in charge of the fire fighting effort shall have the power to blow
up, or cause to be blown up, with powder or otherwise, any building or erection
during the progress of a fire for the purpose of extinguishing or checking the
same. (Ref. Neb. Rev. Stat. §16-222, 16-246)
SECTION 8-109: MANDATORY ASSISTANCE
Any official of the Fire Division may command the assistance and services of
any person present at a fire to help in extinguishing the fire or in the removal
and pro-tection of property.
SECTION 8-110: INSPECTIONS
It shall be the duty of the fire chief, when directed to do so by the City
Council, to inspect or cause to be inspected by Fire Department officers, members,
or some other official, as often as may be necessary, all buildings, premises
and public thoroughfares, except the interiors of private dwellings, for the
purpose of ascer-taining and causing to be corrected any conditions liable to
create a fire hazard. The inspection shall be of the storage, sale and use of
flammable liquids, com-bustibles and explosives; electric wiring and heating;
and the means and ade-quacy of exits in case of fire in schools, churches, hotels,
halls, theatres, facto-ries, hospitals and all other buildings in which numbers
of persons congregate from time to time for any purpose, whether publicly or
privately owned; the de-sign, construction, location, installation, and operation
of equipment for storing, handling, and utilizing of liquefied petroleum gases,
specifying the odorization of said gases and the degree thereof; and chemicals,
prozylin plastics, nitrocellu-lose films, or any other hazardous material that
may now or hereafter exist. (Ref. Neb. Rev. Stat. §81-512)
SECTION 8-111: NOTICE OF VIOLATION
Upon the finding that the municipal code has been violated, the fire chief
shall notify, or cause to be notified, the owner, occupant or manager of the
premises where a violation has occurred. Notice may be made personally or by
delivering a copy to the premises and affixing it to the door of the main entrance
of the said premises. Whenever it may be necessary to serve such an order upon
the owner, such order may be served personally or by mailing a copy to the owner’s
last known post office address if the said owner is absent from the jurisdiction.
Any such order shall be immediately complied with by the owner, occupant or
manager of the premises or building. The owner, occupant or manager may, within
five days after such order by the chief of the Fire Department or his/her agent,
appeal the order with the City Council requesting a review, and it shall be
the duty of the City Council to hear the same within not less than five days
nor more than ten days from the time when the request was filed in writing with
the city clerk. The City Council shall then affirm, modify or rescind the said
order as safety and justice may require and the decision shall then be final,
subject only to any remedy which the aggrieved person may have at law or equity.
The said or-der shall be modified or rescinded only where it is evident that
reasonable safety exists and that conditions necessitate a variance due to the
probable hardship in complying literally with the order of the fire chief. A
copy of any decision so made shall be sent to both the fire chief and the owner,
occupant or manager making the appeal.
SECTION 8-112: POWER OF ARREST
The fire chief or the assistant fire chief shall have the power during the
time of a fire, and for a period of 36 hours after its extinguishment, to arrest
any suspected arsonist or other person hindering or resisting the fire fighting
effort or any person who conducts himself/herself in a noisy or disorderly manner.
The said officials shall be severally vested with the usual powers and authority
of city police offi-cers to command all persons to assist them in the performance
of their duties. (Ref. Neb. Rev. Stat. §16-309)
SECTION 8-113: FIRE INVESTIGATION
It shall be the duty of the Fire Department to investigate or cause to be investi-gated
the cause, origin and circumstances of every fire occurring in the City in which
property has been destroyed or damaged in excess of $50.00. All fires of unknown
origin shall be reported, and such officers shall especially make an in-vestigation
and report as to whether such fire was the result of carelessness, ac-cident
or design. Such investigation shall be begun within two days of the occur-rence
of such fire and the state fire marshal shall have the right to supervise and
direct the investigation whenever he/she deems it expedient or necessary. The
officer making the investigation of fires occurring within the City shall immediately
notify the fire marshal and shall, within one week of the occurrence of the
fire, furnish him/her with a written statement of all the facts relating to
the cause and origin of the fire, and such further information as he/she may
call for. (Ref. Neb. Rev. Stat. §81-506)
SECTION 8-114: DISORDERLY SPECTATOR
It shall be unlawful for any person during the time of a fire and for a period
of 36 hours after its extinguishment to hinder, resist or refuse to obey the
fire chief or to act in a noisy or disorderly manner. The fire chief and assistant
fire chief shall have the power and authority during such time to arrest or
command any such person to assist them in the performance of their official
duties. (Ref. Neb. Rev. Stat. §28-908)
SECTION 8-115: EQUIPMENT
It shall be unlawful for any person except the fire chief and the members of
the Fire Department to molest, destroy, handle or in any other way to interfere
with the use and storage of any of the fire trucks and other apparatus belonging
to the City. (Ref. Neb. Rev. Stat. §28-519)
SECTION 8-116: INTERFERENCE
It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to hinder or obstruct the fire
chief or the members of the Fire Department in the performance of their duty.
(Ref. Neb. Rev. Stat. §28-908)
SECTION 8-117: DRIVING OVER HOSE
It shall be unlawful for any person, without the consent of the fire chief
or assis-tant fire chief, to drive any vehicle over unprotected hose of the
Fire Department. (Ref. Neb. Rev. Stat. §60-6,184)
SECTION 8-118: FALSE ALARM
It shall be unlawful for any person to intentionally and without good and reason-able
cause raise any false alarm of fire. (Ref. Neb. Rev. Stat. §28-907, 35-520)
SECTION 8-119: DISTANT FIRES
Upon the permission of the mayor or fire chief, the fire equipment of the City
which may be designated by the City Council as rural equipment may be used beyond
the corporate limits to extinguish reported fires. The firefighters of the City
shall be considered as acting in the performance and within the scope of their
duties in fighting fires or saving property or life outside the corporate limits
of the City when directed to do so by the mayor or fire chief or some person
author-ized to act for such chief, and in so doing may take such fire equipment
of the City as may be designated by the City Council.
SECTION 8-201: FIRE PREVENTION CODE
Incorporated by reference into this code are the standards recommended by the
American Insurance Association, Engineering and Safety Department, known as
the Fire Prevention Code, 1970 Edition, and all subsequent amendments. This
code shall have the same force and effect as if set out verbatim herein. One
copy of the Fire Prevention Code is on file with the city clerk and shall be
avail-able for public inspection at any reasonable time. (Ref. Neb. Rev. Stat.
§18-132, 19-902, 19-922, 81-502)
SECTION 8-202: FIRE CODE ENFORCEMENT
It shall be the duty of all city officials to enforce the incorporated fire
code provi-sions and all infractions shall be immediately brought to the attention
of the fire chief.
SECTION 8-203: LAWFUL ENTRY
It shall be the duty of the owner, lessee or occupant of any building or structure,
except the interiors of private dwellings, to allow the fire chief to inspect
or cause to be inspected as often as necessary the said structure for the purpose
of ascer-taining and enumerating all conditions therein that are likely to cause
fire, or any other violations of the provisions of the city ordinances affecting
the hazard of fire. (Ref. Neb. Rev. Stat. §81-512)
SECTION 8-204: VIOLATION NOTICE
It shall be the duty of the owner, lessee or occupant of any building or structure
that was lawfully inspected as hereinbefore prescribed, and who receives written
or verbal notice of a violation of any of the provisions of the city ordinances,
to correct the condition that violates the said ordinance or ordinances within
five days from the date of receipt of such notice.
SECTION 8-205: STREET FIRES PROHIBITED
It shall be unlawful for any person to set out a fire on the pavement or near
any curb now built or hereafter to be built within the City.
SECTION 8-206: FIRES PROHIBITED
All outside burning of any substance be and hereby is determined unlawful un-less
the same is burned in a state-approved incinerator or approved by the state
fire marshal or his/her agent. This prohibition shall not apply to the burning
of wood or other substances in a home heating system or fireplace, nor shall
it ap-ply to charcoal or gas grills normally used in outdoor cooking activities.
SECTION 8-207: OPEN BURNING BAN, WAIVER
1. There shall be a statewide open burning ban on all bonfires, outdoor rubbish
fires, and fires for the purpose of clearing land.
2. The fire chief of the City Fire Department or his/her designee may waive
an open burning ban under subsection (1) of this section for an area under his/her
jurisdiction by issuing an open burning permit to a person requesting permission
to conduct open burning. The permit issued by the fire chief or his/her designee
to a person desiring to conduct open burning shall be in writ-ing, signed by
the fire chief or his/her designee, and on a form provided by the state fire
marshal.
3. The fire chief or his/her designee may waive the open burning ban in his/her
jurisdiction when conditions are acceptable to the chief or his/her designee.
Anyone burning in such jurisdiction when the open burning ban has been waived
shall notify the Fire Department of his/her intention to burn.
4. The fire chief may adopt and promulgate rules and regulations listing the
con-ditions acceptable for issuing a permit to conduct open burning under subsec-tion
(2) of this section.
5. The Fire Department may charge a fee not to exceed $10.00 for each such permit
issued. This fee shall be remitted to the City Council for inclusion in the
general funds allocated to the Fire Department. Such funds shall not re-duce
the tax requirements for the Fire Department. No such fee shall be col-lected
from any state or political subdivision to which such a permit is issued to
conduct open burning under subsection (2) of this section in the course of such
state’s or political subdivision’s official duties. (Ref. Neb. Rev.
Stat. §81-520.01)
SECTION 8-208: POISONOUS AND FLAMMABLE GASES
Any person, firm or corporation desiring to store or keep in the City any form
of poisonous or flammable gas or liquefied petroleum gas in an amount over five
gallons for any period of time, or add to, enlarge or replace any facility used
for the storage of such gases, must first get permission from the fire chief
in accor-dance with federal, state and local regulations as may be enacted from
time to time. The applicant shall provide the name of the gas, place of storage,
amount of gas stored and other information as may be required by the fire chief.
For any application where permission is granted, the City Council may prescribe
such rules, regulations and precautionary actions as it may deem necessary.
Permit requirement for the initial construction or location of storage facilities
shall not apply to those facilities in existence on the effective date of this
section; pro-vided, any such present use that is discontinued for a period of
60 days shall not be revived without a permit. (Ref. Neb. Rev. Stat. §16-222)
SECTION 8-209: FIRE LIMITS; DEFINED
The following-described territory in the City shall be and constitute the fire
limits: All lots and blocks lying between Pearl and Vine Streets east of 7th
Street and containing Blocks 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 and 36, and
all subdivisions thereof.
SECTION 8-210: FIRE LIMITS; MATERIALS
Within the aforesaid fire limits, no structure shall be built, altered, moved
or en-larged unless such structure will be enclosed with walls constructed wholly
of stone, well-burned brick, terra cotta, concrete or other such noncombustible
ma-terials as will satisfy the fire chief that the said structure will be reasonably
fire-proof. (Ref. Neb. Rev. Stat. §16-222)
SECTION 8-211: FIRE LIMITS; REMOVAL OR REPAIR REQUIRED
In the event that a building within the fire limits becomes damaged by fire, wind, flood, vandalism or any other cause to the extent of less than 50% of its value, exclusive of the foundation, it shall be the duty of the owner, lessee or occupant to remove or repair the said building in accordance with the provisions of this ar-ticle. Any such building shall be removed or repaired within 60 days from the date of such fire or other casualty. It shall be unlawful for any person to repair or rebuild any such damaged building or structure or for any owner thereof to fail to remove any such damaged building or structure.
It shall also be unlawful for the owner to fail to protect and guard the public from injury or damage arising out of such excavation or open basement remaining, if any. If such owner fails or neglects to remove such building or structure and to protect and guard the public from injury or damage arising out of any excavation or open basement remaining, the City may cause the removal of such building or structure and the installation of a proper device for protection against injury or damage. Such costs shall be reported to the owner, who shall be responsible for the payment thereof together with interest thereon from the date of such report, and the building and land shall be subject to sale in satisfaction of such claim.
SECTION 8-301: STORAGE
Any person desiring to store or keep explosive materials for any period of time shall notify the Fire Department and register such information with the city clerk at least 24 hours prior to such storage. The transfer of explosive materials to an-other person within the City shall require the person receiving the explosive ma-terials to register the transfer and the new location of the explosive materials with the city clerk.
All explosive materials shall be stored in a proper receptacle made of concrete,
metal or stone and be closed at all times except when in actual use. Such recep-tacles
shall not be located in any room where there are flames or flammable ma-terials.
The area surrounding storage facilities shall be kept clear of rubbish, brush,
dry grass or trees not less than 25 feet in all directions. Any other com-bustible
materials shall be kept a distance of not less than 50 feet from outdoor storage
facilities. (Ref. Neb. Rev. Stat. §16-227)
SECTION 8-302: BULLETS
Cartridges, shells and percussion caps shall be kept in their original containers
away from flame, flammable materials and high explosives.
SECTION 8-303: BLASTING PERMITS
Any person wishing to discharge high explosives within the City must secure
a permit from the City Council and shall discharge such explosives in conformance
with its direction and under its supervision; and in no case shall any person
per-form blasting operations unless operating under the direct supervision of
a per-son in possession of a valid user’s permit issued by the Nebraska
State Patrol. (Ref. Neb. Rev. Stat. §28-1229)
SECTION 8-304: TRANSPORTATION
Any person wishing to transport high explosives in the City shall first acquire
a permit from the City Police Department and shall take such precautions and
use such route as the department may prescribe. Nothing herein shall be construed
to apply to the Police Department or any of the Armed Services of the United
States. No vehicle transporting explosives shall make an unscheduled stop for
longer than five minutes within the City, and in the event of mechanical failure,
immediate notice of such breakdown shall be given the police chief, who shall
then prescribe such precautions as may be necessary to protect the residents
of the City and a reasonable time for removal of the vehicle from the City.
(Ref. Neb. Rev. Stat. §16-227, 28-1235)
SECTION 8-401: REGULATION OF USE, SALE, POSSESSION OF FIREWORKS
The use, sale, offer for sale, and possession of permissible fireworks in the
City, as defined by Section 28-1241, R.R.S. Neb. 1943 (Reissue 1985), shall
be gov-erned and regulated by Neb. Rev. Stat. §28-1241 to 28-1252, including
any and all amendments thereto, together with any rules and regulations adopted
by the state fire marshal for the enforcement of Neb. Rev. Stat. §28-1241
to 28-1252.
ARTICLE V - RESCUE SQUAD DIVISION
SECTION 8-501: MEMBERSHIP
The rescue squad division shall consist of as many members as may be decided
by the City Council. New members shall be appointed by the fire chief, and noti-fication
of new members shall be made to the City Council. All vacancies in the division
shall be filled in like manner. All members of the Rescue Squad Division shall
comply with the applicable state statutes. All members shall be considered to
be employees of the City for the purpose of providing them with workmen’s
compensation and other benefits. Each member shall be entitled to a term life
insurance policy in an amount as prescribed by statute for death from any cause;
provided that the members covered are actively and faithfully performing the
du-ties of their position.
SECTION 8-502: ORGANIZATION
Annually, the Rescue Squad Division shall organize itself and elect such officers
as may be provided by law. The members shall hold meetings as provided by their
bylaws and engage in special activities with the approval of the City Council.
SECTION 8-503: DUTIES
It shall be the duty of the Rescue Squad Division of the Fire Department to
pro-vide for the transportation of sick, injured, wounded or otherwise incapacitated
persons needing emergency medical attention. The Rescue Squad shall perform
its duties subject to the requirements of state statutes regarding an emergency
medical service and shall not carry out any of its duties until such requirements
are met.
SECTION 8-504: RECORDS
The fire chief shall keep or cause to be kept a record of all meetings of the Res-cue Squad Division, the attendance record of all members and a record of all calls. The chief shall make a full report of such record to the city clerk during the last week in April of each year. The record of all calls shall include the name of the party transported, the location of the place where the squad responded, the address and location where the party was taken, and why such transportation was needed. All non-medical records shall be available to the public at all rea-sonable times. The reports shall include a roster of all members of the Rescue Squad Division in good standing, and from month to month thereafter the fire chief shall report to the City Council any proposed changes or additions to the roster to insure that all members of the division are at all times covered by insur-ance or such other lawful protection as may be approved by law or the City Council.
SECTION 8-601: VIOLATION; PENALTY
Any person who shall violate or refuse to comply with the enforcement of any of the provisions of this chapter set forth at full length herein or incorporated by ref-erence shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $500.00 for each offense. A new violation shall be deemed to have been committed every 24 hours of such failure to comply.