ARTICLE 15. FIRE FIGHTING; FIRE COMPANIES AND DEPARTMENTS; CIVIL SERVICE FOR PAID FIRE DEPARTMENTS.
§8-15-1. Power and authority of governing body with respect to fires.
The governing body of every municipality shall have plenary power and authority to provide for the prevention and extinguishment of fires, and, for this purpose, it may, among other things, regulate how buildings shall be constructed, procure proper engines and implements, provide for the organization, equipment and government of volunteer fire companies or of a paid fire department, prescribe the powers and duties of such companies or department and of the several officers, provide for the appointment of officers to have command of fire fighting, prescribe what their powers and duties shall be, and impose on those who fail or refuse to obey any lawful command of such officers any penalty which the governing body is authorized by law to impose for the violation of an ordinance. It may give authority to any such officer or officers to direct the pulling down or destroying of any fence, house, building or other thing, if deemed necessary to prevent the spreading of a fire.
§8-15-2. Liability for property pulled down or destroyed to prevent spread of fire.
The owner of any property pulled down or destroyed to prevent the spreading of a fire, as specified in section one of this article, shall be entitled to recover from the municipality the actual property damage which he may have sustained by reason of the same having been pulled down or destroyed: Provided, That no one shall recover compensation for property which would have been destroyed by fire, if the same had not been pulled down or destroyed under direction as specified in section one of this article, but recovery may be had only for what could have been saved with ordinary care and diligence had no such direction been given.
The owner of any property pulled down or destroyed to prevent the spreading of a fire, as specified in section one of this article, shall be entitled to recover from the municipality the actual property damage which he may have sustained by reason of the same having been pulled down or destroyed: Provided, That no one shall recover compensation for property which would have been destroyed by fire, if the same had not been pulled down or destroyed under direction as specified in section one of this article, but recovery may be had only for what could have been saved with ordinary care and diligence had no such direction been given.
§8-15-3. Municipalities empowered and authorized to contract for prevention and extinguishment of fires beyond the corporate limits.
(a) Any municipality may contract to render services in the prevention and extinguishment of fires upon property located within the state. A municipality may contract beyond its immediate boundary limit for fire service protection if fire protection is provided in accordance with and under a rural fire protection district plan based upon the fire suppression rating schedule approved by the state insurance commissioner.
All rural fire protection district plans shall be approved by the state fire commission. No rural fire protection district plan providing for a municipality to contract beyond its boundary may infringe upon an existing fire department's response area without the written consent of the fire department providing fire services for that area.
No contract entered into under the authority of this section may operate to impose any greater obligation or liability upon the municipality than that with respect to property within its corporate limits. Nothing contained in this section may be construed as requiring any municipality to contract to render such services.
A municipality providing fire services under contract to any property outside its corporate limits may offer fire service under contract to any property within the county if the property owner requests the protection.
Any contract entered into under the authority of this section, on or after the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred sixty-nine, shall require the property owner to pay as consideration for said services an annual payment, determined as provided in the remainder of this subsection.
If the municipality does not impose a fire service fee on the users of such service within the municipality as authorized in section thirteen, article thirteen of this chapter, the annual payment shall be equivalent to eighty percent of the annual tax levied for current municipal purposes upon property within said municipality of like assessed valuation to the property under contract.
If the municipality does impose a fire service fee on the users of such service within the municipality, as authorized in said section, the annual payment shall be equivalent to the amount of fire service fee which would be imposed if the property under contract were located within the municipality plus at least fifty percent of the annual tax levied for current municipal purposes upon property within said municipality of like assessed valuation to the property under contract.
No contract entered into under the authority of this section, and nothing herein contained, may be construed as requiring or permitting any municipality to install or maintain any special additional apparatus or equipment beyond that necessary for the protection of property within its corporate limits.
(b) The annual payments due under any such contract are payable on or before the first day of October of each calendar year in which such contract remains in effect, or upon such day as may be hereinafter provided as the due date of the first installment of ad valorem taxes. If any annual payment is in default for a period of more than thirty days, it shall bear interest at the same rate as that provided for delinquent property taxes and shall be a lien upon the property under contract if a notice of such lien is recorded in the proper deed of trust book in the office of the clerk of the county commission of the county in which such property or the major portion thereof is located. Such lien is void at the expiration of two years after such defaulted annual payment became due, unless within such two-year period a civil action seeking equitable relief to enforce the lien was instituted by the municipality. The municipality may by civil action collect any annual payment and the interest thereon at any time within five years after such payment became due; and upon default in any annual payment, the municipality may cancel the contract involved.
(c) Any contract made under the authority of this section shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the successors in title of the person making the same contract; and such person, upon conveying the property subject to such contract, is no longer liable under such contract, except as to annual payments which were due prior to the conveyance and which remain unpaid.
(d) Any property owner may cancel any such contract with respect to the property of such owner upon giving a thirty-day written notice to the municipality, if the owner is not in default with respect to any annual payment due thereunder, except that if such notice is given subsequent to the first day of July of any calendar year, the next succeeding annual payment shall be made by the property owner as soon as the amount thereof is ascertainable. Upon cancellation as aforesaid, the municipality shall deliver to the property owner a recordable release discharging such owner and such property from any further lien or obligation with respect to the annual payments. The annual payments due under any such contract shall be made to the officials as the municipality, in the contract, designates to receive them, who likewise may receive notice of cancellation and execute upon behalf of the municipality the release for which provision is hereinbefore made.
§8-15-4. Power and authority to form fire companies; recordation of statement; organization.
Any number of persons, not less than twenty, residing within the corporate limits of a municipality without a paid fire department may form themselves into a company for extinguishing fires therein. A writing stating the formation of such company, with the names of the members thereof subscribed thereto, shall be recorded in the office of the clerk of the county commission of the county wherein such municipality or the major portion of the territory thereof is located, after which the members of the company shall elect its officers, including a commander, and make rules and regulations for effecting its object consistent with the laws of the state and the ordinances of such municipality. A volunteer fire company shall be subject to the authority of the governing body.
§8-15-5. Duties of company members; meetings to inspect equipment; report; penalty for noncompliance.
Every member of a volunteer fire company shall, upon any alarm of fire, attend, according to the ordinances of the municipality and the company's rules and regulations, and endeavor to extinguish the fire.
In addition to the meetings required by the ordinances of the municipality and the rules and regulations of the company, semiannual meetings of the company shall be held in April and October, on such days as the commander thereof may appoint, to examine the state of the engine, hose and other equipment, practice therewith and see that the same are in good condition. Within one month after any such semiannual meeting the commander of such company shall make to the governing body a written report of the names of those attending such meeting, together with a written report of the condition of the engine, hose and other equipment. For any failure to comply with the provisions of this section, the commander shall be fined not less than ten nor more than twenty-five dollars.
Whenever the governing body shall ascertain that such company has failed, for three months successively, to consist of twenty effective members, or shall ascertain that it has failed for a like period of time to have and keep in good, serviceable condition an engine, hose or other proper equipment, such governing body shall declare such failure and by order dissolve the company.
Whenever a company is dissolved, the order of dissolution shall be recorded in the office of the clerk of the county court of the county wherein such municipality or the major portion of the territory thereof is located.
In lieu of forming a company as specified in section four of this article, interested persons may cause the incorporation of a volunteer fire company as a nonstock, nonprofit corporation under the general corporation laws of this state. The corporation and the members thereof shall have all of the duties and obligations imposed upon unincorporated volunteer fire companies and the members thereof by the provisions of sections four and five of this article. The provisions of section six of this article shall be applicable to any such corporation, except that instead of entering an order of dissolution, the governing body shall enter an order directing the members of the corporation to take the necessary action under the general corporation laws of this state to bring about the dissolution of such corporation. Upon the entry of any such order, it shall be the duty of the members of such corporation to comply therewith.
§8-15-8. Support of volunteer fire company; return of property upon dissolution.
Any municipality may contribute to the support of its volunteer fire company by providing a firehouse, fire-fighting equipment, necessary paid personnel and incidental requirements to maintain such company upon an efficient basis. Upon the dissolution of any such company, all of the property contributed by the municipality shall become the property of and be returned to such municipality.
Any municipality may contribute to the support of its volunteer fire company by providing a firehouse, fire-fighting equipment, necessary paid personnel and incidental requirements to maintain such company upon an efficient basis. Upon the dissolution of any such company, all of the property contributed by the municipality shall become the property of and be returned to such municipality.
§8-15-8a. Eligibility for allocation from municipal pensions and protection fund and the Fire Protection Fund.
(a) In order to be eligible to receive revenues allocated from the municipal pensions and protection fund or the Fire Protection Fund, each volunteer or part volunteer fire company or department must meet the following requirements:
(1) Submit and maintain current submission of fire loss data to the State Fire Marshal;
(2) Complete or be in the process of receiving firefighters training, including section one of the West Virginia University fire service extension or its equivalent. The fire company or department must have at least ten members certified as having completed the training or if a volunteer fire company or department has twenty or fewer members, fifty percent of the active volunteer members must have completed such training; and
(3) Comply with all applicable federal and state laws.
(b) Each volunteer or part volunteer fire company or department shall have a grace period of ninety days, beyond the allocation date in which to comply with submission requirements to the State Fire Marshal. The State Fire Marshal shall notify each volunteer or part volunteer fire company or department of the due date for submitting the information required by this section and the grace period by certified mailing requiring signature and a return receipt.
(c) When the records of a volunteer or part volunteer fire company or department are destroyed by a fire or other natural disaster, then the affected volunteer or part volunteer fire company or department is exempt from the provisions of subdivision (1), subsection (a) of this section, for the three months period immediately following the destruction of the records.
§8-15-8b. Authorized expenditures of revenues from the municipal pensions and protection fund and the fire protection fund.
Revenues allocated to volunteer and part volunteer fire companies and departments may be expended only for the items listed in subdivisions (1) through (15) of this section.
Revenues allocated to volunteer and part volunteer fire companies and departments may be expended only for the items listed in subdivisions (1) through (15) of this section.
Funds received from the state for volunteer and part volunteer fire companies and departments, pursuant to sections fourteen-d and thirty-three, article three, and section seven, article twelve-c, all of chapter thirty-three of this code, may not be commingled with funds received from any other source. Expenditures may be made for the following:
(1) Personal protective equipment, including protective head gear, bunker coats, pants, boots, combination of bunker pants and boots, coats and gloves;
(2) Equipment for compliance with the national fire protection standard or automotive fire apparatus, NFPA-1901;
(3) Compliance with insurance service office recommendations relating to fire departments;
(4) Rescue equipment, communications equipment and ambulance equipment: Provided, That no moneys received from the municipal pensions and protection fund or the fire protection fund may be used for equipment for personal vehicles owned or operated by volunteer fire company or department members;
(5) Capital improvements reasonably required for effective and efficient fire protection service and maintenance of the capital improvements;
(6) Retirement of debts;
(7) Payment of utility bills;
(8) Payment of the cost of immunizations, including any laboratory work incident to the immunizations, for firefighters against hepatitis-b and other blood borne pathogens: Provided, That the vaccine shall be purchased through the state immunization program or from the lowest cost vendor available: Provided, however, That volunteer and part volunteer fire companies and departments shall seek to obtain no cost administration of the vaccinations through local boards of health: Provided further, That in the event any volunteer or part volunteer fire company or department is unable to obtain no cost administration of the vaccinations through a local board of health, the company or department shall seek to obtain the lowest cost available for the administration of the vaccinations from a licensed health care provider;
(9) Any filing fee required to be paid to the Legislative Auditor's Office under section fourteen, article four, chapter twelve of this code relating to sworn statements of annual expenditures submitted by volunteer or part volunteer fire companies or departments that receive state funds or grants;
(10) Property/casualty insurance premiums for protection and indemnification against loss or damage or liability;
(11) Operating expenses reasonably required in the normal course of providing effective and efficient fire protection service, which include, but are not limited to, gasoline, bank fees, postage and accounting costs;
(12) Dues paid to national, state and county associations;
(13) Workers' Compensation premiums;
(14) Life insurance premiums to provide a benefit not to exceed $20,000 for firefighters; and
(15) Educational and training supplies and fire prevention promotional materials, not to exceed $500 per year.
(a) Effective the first day of July, two thousand two, no person, company or other organization who donates fire control or rescue equipment, including federal excess or surplus property, to a volunteer fire department is subject to civil liability for any personal injury, property damages or death resulting from any defect in the equipment unless the person, company or organization acted with malice, gross negligence, recklessness or intentional misconduct which proximately caused the personal injury, property damages or death.
(b) For purposes of this section, "fire control or rescue equipment" means a vehicle, fire fighting tool, protective gear, breathing apparatus or other supply or tool used in fire fighting or fire rescue. No breathing apparatus may be donated unless, prior to the donation, it has been recertified to the manufacturer's specifications by a technician approved by the manufacturer.
(c) Unless the insured has executed a specific written rejection of such coverage in the policy, any insurer who has sold, issued or delivered an insurance policy providing liability coverage to any person, company or other organization who donates fire control or rescue equipment is barred and estopped from asserting the civil immunity granted to the insured by this section against claims or suits covered by the terms of the policy, up to the limits of the policy.
The limitation on civil liability set forth in the provisions of this section applies only to policies of insurance issued or renewed on or after the first day of July, two thousand one.
PART III. PAID FIRE DEPARTMENTS.
§8-15-9. Establishment and maintenance of paid fire department.
Any municipality may provide for, establish, equip and maintain a full-time paid fire department. A paid fire department shall be subject to the authority, control and discipline of the administrative authority. For the purposes of this article, the term "paid fire department" shall be taken to mean only a municipal fire department maintained and paid for out of public funds and whose employees are paid on a full-time basis out of public funds. The term shall not be taken to mean a department whose employees are paid nominal salaries or wages or are only paid for services actually rendered on an hourly basis.
§8-15-9. Establishment and maintenance of paid fire department.
Any municipality may provide for, establish, equip and maintain a full-time paid fire department. A paid fire department shall be subject to the authority, control and discipline of the administrative authority. For the purposes of this article, the term "paid fire department" shall be taken to mean only a municipal fire department maintained and paid for out of public funds and whose employees are paid on a full-time basis out of public funds. The term shall not be taken to mean a department whose employees are paid nominal salaries or wages or are only paid for services actually rendered on an hourly basis.
§8-15-10. Hours of duty for firemen in a paid fire department.
On and after the effective date of this section, the members of a paid fire department, without any reduction in their total annual compensation as such members, shall not be required to remain on duty in excess of one hundred twelve hours during any fourteen consecutive days' period. The members of any such paid fire department shall, by a majority vote, determine the schedule of hours to be worked in any twenty-four-hour period: Provided, That the members of any paid fire department shall not remain on duty for more than twenty-four consecutive hours except in case of an emergency requiring the service of more than one half of the department. The chief executive officer of the department is hereby empowered, authorized and directed to make the necessary assignments as provided in this section.
On and after the effective date of this section, the members of a paid fire department, without any reduction in their total annual compensation as such members, shall not be required to remain on duty in excess of one hundred twelve hours during any fourteen consecutive days' period. The members of any such paid fire department shall, by a majority vote, determine the schedule of hours to be worked in any twenty-four-hour period: Provided, That the members of any paid fire department shall not remain on duty for more than twenty-four consecutive hours except in case of an emergency requiring the service of more than one half of the department. The chief executive officer of the department is hereby empowered, authorized and directed to make the necessary assignments as provided in this section.
§8-15-10a. Firemen who are required to work during holidays; how compensated.
From the effective date of this section, if any member of a paid fire department is required to work during a legal holiday as is specified in subsection (a), section one, article two, chapter two of this code, or if a legal holiday falls on the member's regular scheduled day off, he or she shall be allowed equal time off at such time as may be approved by the chief executive officer of the department under whom he or she serves or, in the alternative, shall be paid at a rate not less than one and one-half times his or her regular rate of pay: Provided, That if a special election of a political subdivision other than a municipality falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the municipality may choose not to recognize the day of the election as a holiday if a majority of the municipality's city council votes not to recognize the day of the election as a holiday.
From the effective date of this section, if any member of a paid fire department is required to work during a legal holiday as is specified in subsection (a), section one, article two, chapter two of this code, or if a legal holiday falls on the member's regular scheduled day off, he or she shall be allowed equal time off at such time as may be approved by the chief executive officer of the department under whom he or she serves or, in the alternative, shall be paid at a rate not less than one and one-half times his or her regular rate of pay: Provided, That if a special election of a political subdivision other than a municipality falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the municipality may choose not to recognize the day of the election as a holiday if a majority of the municipality's city council votes not to recognize the day of the election as a holiday.
No comments:
Post a Comment
We are making comments available again! You are free to express your First Amendment Rights Here!