National City Municipal Code Ch. 2.12 Fire Department

There is created a fire department in and for the city.

(Ord. 649 § 2, 1937)

The fire department shall consist of one chief engineer, one assistant chief engineer, and such battalion chiefs, officers and members as may be required from time to time, who shall be provided by the city council. The salary of the chief engineer shall be fixed by the city council at the same time, and in the same manner as the salaries of all officers are fixed and determined.

(Ord. 649 § 3, 1937)

All active officers, members and employees of the fire department at the time the ordinance codified in this chapter takes effect shall be retained as members of the National City fire department, and shall only be removed for cause as provided in this chapter.

(Ord. 649 § 4, 1937)

The fire department shall be under the management of the chief and his successors in office, subject to the approval of the city council. Said chief shall organize the department, and shall organize when he may deem it necessary a department of fire prevention. The chief engineer shall be chief executive officer of such department. Said chief shall create and establish such fire companies as he deems necessary, prescribe the number and duties of the officers and employees of the department and the uniform and badges to be worn by them, have control of the property and equipment of the department and exercise full power and authority over all appropriations made for the use of the department, subject to the approval of the city council.

(Ord. 649 § 5, 1937)

All persons appointed to positions in the department must at the time of their appointment be citizens of the United States, not less than twenty-one nor more than thirty-one years of age, of good character and sobriety, and able to read and write English; all officers down to the grade of lieutenant must have been residents of the city at least one year next preceding the date of their appointment; they must pass a mental and physical examination under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the chief, and must, upon such examination, be found in sound bodily health.

(Ord. 649 § 6, 1937)

No officer, member or employee of the fire department shall be appointed or removed because of his religious or political opinion, except that political activity may be cause for suspension or removal.

(Ord. 649 § 7, 1937)

No officer, member or employee of the fire department shall be dismissed by the city council, except for cause, nor until he has had a hearing before the chief of the department. In case of charges preferred against the chief of the fire department, they shall be heard before the city council, and if said charges be sustained, he may be removed by a two-thirds vote of the entire council. The accused shall be furnished with a written copy of the charges against him at least three days before his trial, and shall have the right to appear in person or by counsel and examine witnesses in his behalf.

(Ord. 649 § 8, 1937)

The chief of the fire department shall provide rules and regulations for the government of the department and provide penalties for the violation of the same. The chief may suspend any member of the department, for a term not to exceed thirty days, where, in his judgment, such suspension is necessary for the good of the service.

(Ord. 649 § 9, 1937)

In case of a vacancy, the city council shall appoint a chief engineer. The chief engineer shall be charged with a special duty of superintending the extinguishing of fires. The chief engineer shall be the chief executive officer of the fire department, fire marshal, superintendent of the fire alarm and telegraph systems, and it shall be his duty and that of the assistant chiefs to see that all laws, rules and regulations of the city, made by the chief and city council, under the jurisdiction of the fire department are enforced. The city council may grant such leave of absence with full pay not to exceed one year, to any fireman who has contracted sickness or disability in the line of duty. The chief of the fire department may require the said fireman to report for duty upon satisfactory proof that the said fireman is able to perform his duty. The chief of the fire department may grant such leave of absence not to exceed thirty days with full pay, or for other reasons, a leave of absence of thirty days, without pay, subject to approval of the city council.

(Ord. 649 § 10, 1937)

The chief engineer may suspend any subordinate officer, member or employee of the fire department for incompetence, or for any violation of the rules and regulations of the fire department, and shall forthwith report in writing such suspension, with his reasons therefor, to the city council for its action. He shall diligently observe the condition of the apparatus and workings of the department, and report in writing thereon at least once a month to the city council and make such recommendations and suggestions respecting the same as he deems proper. In the absence or inability of the chief engineer, the assistant chief engineer shall perform his duties.

(Ord. 649 § 11, 1937)

The chief engineer, or in his absence, the assistant chief engineer, or in their absence, any battalion chief in charge, may, during a conflagration, cause to be cut down or otherwise removed, any buildings or structures for the purpose of checking the progress of such conflagration, and shall have authority to board any vessel attached to, or alongside of, any wharf or pier within the city limits of the San Diego Bay, provided such vessel is on fire and a menace to life and property, and if in his judgment it shall be necessary to remove such vessel from such wharf or pier or other vessels, he shall have authority to do so.

(Ord. 649 § 12, 1937)