Chapter 4 - Police and Fire Departments

ARTICLE 4-1
ARTICLE 4-2

ARTICLE 4-1        POLICE DEPARTMENT

4-1-1           Created; Composition

4-1-2           Departmental Rules and Regulations

4-1-3           Duties of Police Department

4-1-4           Answering Calls Outside the Town

4-1-5           Reserve Officers

Section 4-1-1      Created; Composition

There is hereby created a police department for the town which shall consist of a chief of police and as many police officers as may from time to time be deemed necessary by the council for the safety and good order of the town.

Section 4-1-2      Departmental Rules and Regulations

The chief of police may make or prescribe such departmental rules and regulations as he shall deem advisable.  Such rules and regulations shall be binding on members of the police department.  Such rules and regulations may cover the conduct of the members, uniforms and equipment to be worn or carried and all other similar matters necessary or desirable for the better efficiency of the department.

Section 4-1-3      Duties of Police Department^[1]

It is the duty of the police department, under the direction of the chief of police, to:

1. Enforce this code and the statutes of the State of Arizona within jurisdictional limits as conferred by law and to arrest and charge the violators thereof.
   

2. Deliver any persons who may be confined in the jail upon conviction of a crime committed under the jurisdiction of the magistrate's court to the police chief or any officer of the town authorized by him who shall at any time demand such prisoners.  Any such authorized person receiving such prisoners shall work such prisoners on the streets or alleys of the town or on any and all authorized work as may be determined by the manager.
   

3. Render such account of the police department, its duties and receipts as may be required by the council.
   

4. Enforce the traffic regulations of the town as specified in Chapter 12 of this code and enforce the traffic laws of the state within the limits of the town.
   

5. Inspect and ascertain the condition of traffic control devices of every description which have been erected within the town on the authority of the council and to notify the manager of any defects found therein.
   

6. To respond, if available for fire duty, to all fire alarms and assist the fire department in the protection of life and property, in regulating traffic, maintaining order and in enforcing the provisions of Article 4-2.

Section 4-1-4      Answering Calls Outside the Town^[2]

The members of the police department of the town are duly authorized to answer calls for aid and assistance beyond the corporate limits of the town, whenever the police chief, in his discretion, shall deem it necessary to protect lives and property, and pursuant to mutual aid agreements and state statutes.

Section 4-1-5      Reserve Officers

The town may establish a police reserve officer program.  Members of the police reserve shall serve the town subject to such rules and procedures specified by the town.

ARTICLE 4-2        FIRE DEPARTMENT^[3]

4-2-1           Created

4-2-2           Officers

4-2-3           Duties of the Chief

4-2-4           Membership

4-2-5           Equipment

4-2-6           General Provisions

4-2-7           Providing Fire Protection Outside the Town

Section 4-2-1      Created

There is hereby created a volunteer fire department for the town for the prevention of fire and the protection of life and property within the limits of the town.

Section 4-2-2      Officers

1. The department shall consist of a fire chief, one assistant chief and other officers as may be deemed necessary by the fire chief for the effective operation of the department.
   

2. The fire chief shall be appointed by the members of the department for an indefinite period of time, and his tenure of office shall depend upon his good conduct and efficiency.  The chief shall be technically qualified by training and experience and shall have ability to command firefighters and hold their respect and confidence.  He shall be removed only for just cause and after a public hearing before the council.
   

3. The chief shall be held accountable to the council only and shall make written and verbal reports thereto as the council may require.  All other department and company officers shall be accountable to the chief only.
   

4. The assistant chief and all other department and company officers shall be appointed by the chief.  Such officers shall be accountable only to the chief and subject to removal by him.

Section 4-2-3      Duties of the Chief

1. The chief shall formulate a set of rules and regulations to govern the department and shall be responsible to the council for the personnel, morale and general efficiency of the department.
   

2. The chief shall determine the number and kind of companies of which the department is to be composed and shall determine the response of such companies to alarms.
   

3. The chief shall at least once a month conduct suitable drills or instruction in the operation and handling of equipment, first aid and rescue work, salvage, a study of buildings in the town, fire prevention, water supplies and all other matters generally considered essential to good firemanship and safety of life and property from fire.
   

4. The chief is hereby required to assist the proper authorities in suppressing the crime of arson by investigating or causing to be investigated the cause, origin and circumstances of all fires.
   

5. The chief is hereby empowered to enter any and all buildings and premises at any reasonable hour for the purpose of making inspections and to serve written notice upon the owner or occupant to abate, within a specified time, any and all fire hazards that may be found.  Any person so served with a notice to abate any fire hazard shall comply therewith and promptly notify the chief.
   

6. The chief shall see that complete records are kept of all fires, inspections, apparatus and minor equipment, personnel and other information about the work of the department.
   

7. The chief shall report monthly to the council the condition of the apparatus and equipment; the number of fires during the month, their location and cause, and date of same and loss occasioned thereby; the number and purpose of all other runs made; the number of members responding to each fire or other run and any changes in membership.
   

8. The chief shall make a complete annual report to the council within one month after the close of the fiscal year.  Such report shall include the information specified in subsection F of this section, together with comparative data for previous years and recommendations for improving the effectiveness of the department.

Section 4-2-4      Membership

1. The membership of the department shall consist of such persons as may be appointed by the fire chief.  Such appointees shall be able-bodied citizens residing within the town whose business activities are normally within the confines of the town and who have telephones in their homes.  Determination of whether candidates for appointment are able-bodied shall be made by the chief after a medical and physical examination has been made in a manner prescribed by the chief and approved by the council.
   

2. Any member of the department may be suspended or discharged from the department by the chief at any time the chief may deem such action necessary for the good of the department.  On written request of such member to the council, he shall be given a public hearing on the suspension or discharge.

Section 4-2-5      Equipment

1. The fire department shall be equipped with such apparatus and other equipment as may be required from time to time to maintain its efficiency and properly protect life and property from fire. 
   

2. Recommendations concerning apparatus and equipment needed shall be made by the fire chief, and, after approval by the council, such apparatus and equipment shall be purchased in such manner as may be designated by the council.
   

3. All equipment of the department shall be safely and conveniently housed in such places as may be designated by the council.  Such places shall be heated during the winter season.
   

4. Suitable arrangements or equipment shall be provided for citizens to turn in an alarm and for notifying all members of the department so that they may promptly respond.
   

5. No person shall use any fire apparatus or equipment for any private purpose, nor shall any person willfully and without proper authority take away or conceal any article used in any way by the fire department. 
   

6. No person shall enter any place where fire apparatus is housed or handle any apparatus or equipment belonging to the department unless accompanied by or having special permission of an officer or authorized member of the fire department.
   

7. No fire apparatus shall be hired out or permitted to leave the fire station, except in response to a call for aid at a fire within the corporate limits of the town, or in response to a call for aid at a fire in an area authorized for fire protection service or mutual aid under the provisions of Section 4-2-7.

Section 4-2-6      General Provisions

1. In accordance with the provisions of state law, all motor equipment of the fire department shall have right-of-way over all other traffic when responding to an alarm.
   

2. No person shall drive any vehicle over a fire hose except upon specific orders from the fire chief or other member of the fire department where the hose is used.
   

3. No unauthorized person shall park any vehicle or otherwise cause any obstruction to be placed within twenty feet of the entrance to any fire station or other place where fire apparatus is stored and on the side of a street opposite the entrance to any fire station within seventy-five feet of the entrance or within fifteen feet of any fire hydrant. 
   

4. No unauthorized vehicle shall follow within five hundred feet of any apparatus belonging to the fire department or park within three hundred feet of a fire.
   

5. It is unlawful for any person knowingly to turn in or cause to be turned in a false alarm.

Section 4-2-7      Providing Fire Protection Outside the Town^[4]

1. The council may enter into agreements or contracts to furnish fire protection outside the town or enter into mutual aid agreements, and the fire department is authorized to render fire fighting service pursuant to the terms of such agreements or contracts.
   

2. Whenever the fire chief, or in his absence his authorized representative, shall deem it necessary to protect lives or property, the fire department is authorized to answer fire alarms and fight fires outside the corporate limits of the town.
   

3. No apparatus shall be hired out or permitted to leave the fire station, except in response to a call for aid at a fire in a neighboring community without the consent of the chief or in his absence the assistant chief.  The officer in charge of the department shall have power to assign equipment for response to calls for outside aid in accordance with subsection A of this section, and in other cases only when the absence of such equipment will not jeopardize protection in the town.

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