78-C-20
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ORDINANCE NO. 9Y- E.- d-tJ
AN ORDINANCE
OF THE CITY OF SCHERTZ,. TEXAS PROVIDING THAT THE CODE OF
ORDINANCES, CITY OF SCHERTZ, TEXAS, BE AMENDED BY REPEALI~G
CHAPTER 7 OF SAID CODE AND REPLACING WITH A REVISED CHAPTER
7; PROVIDING FOR THE ADOPTION OF THE 1974 EDITION OF THE
SOUTHERN STANDARD FIRE PREVENTION CODE; THE OFFICES OF
FIRE CHIEF AND FIRE MARSHAL AND THEIR DUTIES; RESCINDING
ALL ORDINANCE IN CONFLICT.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SCHERTZ, TEXAS:
CHAPTER 7
FIRE PREVENTION AND PROTECTION
ARTI CLE I
IN GENERAL
Section 7-1 Southern Standard Fire Prevention Code
(a) The 1974 edition of the Southern Standard Fire Prevention
Code, was adopted by the board of trustees, Southern Code
Congress in 1974 in Asheville, North Carolina, was specifi-
cally adopted as the fire code of the City of Schertz, Texas,
and a copy is attached hereto and incorporated herein by
reference as though set out completely in detail. A copy
of said Southern Standard Fire Prevention Code shall be
filed with the City Secretary and maintained in the City
Secretary's office of the City of Schertz and all such copies
shall be open to public inspection during business hours of
said office.
(b) Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of the
code adopted by Section 7-1 (a) or fail to comply therewith,
or who shall violate or fail to comply with any order made
thereunder, or who shall build in violation of any detailed
statement of specification or plans submitted and approved
thereunder, or any certificate or permit issued thereunder
and from which no appeal has been taken, or who-shall fail
to comply with such an order as affirmed or modified by the
City Council, or by a court of competent jurisdiction, within
the time fixed herein, shall severally for each and every
such violation and non-compliance respectively, be guilty
of a misdemeanor punishable as prescribed in Section 1-8
of this Code of Ordinances. The imposition of one penalty
for any violation shall not excuse the violation or permit
it to continue, and all such persons shall be required to
correct or remedy such violations or defects within a
reasonable time; and when not otherwise specified, each day
that prohibited conditions are maintained shall constitute
a separate offense.
(c) The application of the above penalty shall not be held
to prevent the enforced removal of prohibited conditions.
Section 7-2 Arson Award
The City hereby offers a reward of two hundred fifty dollars
($250.00) for the arrest and conviction of any person found
guilty of committing the crime of arson within the corporate
limits of the city. This reward is a standing offer and shall
be paid out of the general fund of the city.
Section 7-3 through 7-13 Reserved
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ARTICLE II
FIRE DEPARTMENT
Section 7-14 Office of Chief created; appointment of Chief.
The office of Fire Chief is hereby created, the Fire Chief shall be
appointed by the Mayor with consent of the City Council. The Board
of Directors of the Schertz Volunteer Fire Department may recommend
the succeeding Chief to the Mayor.
Section 7-15 Selection of Assistant Chiefs; Captains and Training
Officer
(a) The Fire Chief shall select four Assistant Chiefs~ desigrated by
rank: First Assistant, Second Assistant, etc. Subordinate to the
Assistant Chiefs shall be four Captains, also appointed by the Chief,
also ranked: First Captain, Second Captain, etc. The Chief shall
also appoint a Training Officer.
(b) The Fire Chief, or in his absence, the highest ranking officer,
shall be duly responsible and shall have full control over the
use, care, and maintenance of the fire-fighting equipment of the
City of Schertz. The Fire Chief or the person in command shall be
responsible for, and have full authority, incident to the construction
of fire-training drills. The Training Officer shall be responsible
for maintaining a training schedule for the members of the Schertz
Volunteer Fire Department. Drills for the members shall be conducted
each and every month in accordance with the requirements of the State
Board of Insurance.
Section 7-16 To Whom Chief and assistant responsible.
The Fire Chief shall be directly responsible to the City Manager. The
Assistant Chiefs, Captains, and Training Officer shall be responsible
to the Fire Chief.
Section 7-17 Assignment of duties to assistant chiefs.
The Fire Chief shall have full authority to assign to the Assistant Chiefs,
Captians and Training Officer such duties as he may deem appropriate or
necessary.
Section 7-18 Command at Fires
In the event that the Fire Chief is not present at any fire, the highest
ranking Assistant Fire Chief on the scene shall take command, or the
highest ranking Captain if no Assistant Chiefs are on the scene, until
a higher ranking officer arrives, who shall then assume command.
Section 7-19
(a) The Fire Chief, or the member in command, shall be fully responsible
for and shall have full authority and control over all members of
the Schertz Volunteer Fire Department and any other citizens or
persons present at any fire in the city.
(b) The Fire Chief, or the member in command, shall have full authority
to restrict access to the vicinity of any fire to such persons as
he may deem necessary.
(c) The Fire Chief, or member in command, may call the Police Department
to request traffic control in the vicinity.
(d) In the case of major emergencies (major fires, floods, other natural
disasters), reference Ordinance 73-M-8, the Emergency Operations Plan.
Section 7-20 through 7-31 Reserved.
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ARTI CLE I II
FIRE MARSHAL
Section 7-32 Office of Fire Marshal created.
The office of Fire Marshal is hereby created. Such office shall be
independent of other city departments. The Fire Marshal is appointed
by, and is responsible to, the City Manager, and may be removed only for
cause. His salary shall be as set by the City Council.
Section 7-33 Office of Assistant Fire Marshal created.
The office of Assistant Fire Marshal is hereby created. He shall be
appointed by and responsible to the Fire Marshal. His duties shall be
those delegated to him by the Fire Marshal.
Section 7-34 Duty to investigate fires.
The Fire Marshal shall investigate the cause, orgin, and circumstances
of every fire occuring within the city by which property has been
destroyed or damaged, and shall especially make investigations as to whether
such fire was the result of carelessness or design. Such investigation
shall begin within twenty-four (24) hours, not including Sunday, or any
recognized Federal hol idays, of the occurance of such fire.
Section 7-35 Taking of testimony; administration of oaths.
(a) The fire Marshal, when in his opinion further investigation is
necessary, shall take or cause to be taken the testimony, on oath, of
all persons supposed to be cognizant of any facts or to have means of
knowledge in relation to the matter under investigation, and shall
cause the same to be reduced to writing.
(b) The Fire Marshal is hereby authorized and empowered to administer
oaths and affirmations to any persons appearing as witnesses before
him.
Section 7-36 Authority to summon witnesses and require production of
documents.
The Fire Marshal shall have the power to summon witnesses before him to
testify in relation to any matter which is, by the provisions of this
chapter, a subject of inquiry and investigation, and may require the
production of any book, paper or document pertinent thereto.
Section 7-37 Investigations may be private; sequestering witnesses.
All investigations held by or under the direction of the Fire Marshal
may, at his descretion, be private, and persons other than those required
to be present may be excluded from the place where such investigation is
held, and witnesses may be kept separate and apart from each other and
not allowed to communicate with each other until they have been examined.
Section 7-38 Duty when evidence indicates crime in connection with fire.
If the Fire Marshal is of the opinion that there is evidence sufficient
to charge any person with the crime of arson, or with the attempt to
commit the crime of arson, or of conspiracy to defraud, or crimainal con-
duct in connection with any fire, he shall cause such person to be law-
fully arrested and charged with such offenses, or either of them, and
shall furnish to the proper prosecuting attorney all such evidence,
together with the names of witnesses and all of the information obtained
by him, .including a copy of all pertinent and material testimony taken
in the case.
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Section 7-39 Misconduct of witnesses summoned by Fire Marshal.
Any witness who refuses to be sworn, or who refuses to appear or testify
or who disobeys any lawful order of the Fire Marshal, or who fails or
refuses to produce any book, paper or document touching any matter under
examination, or who is guilty of any contemptuous conduct during any of
the proceedings of the Fire Marshal in the matter under investigation
or inquiry, after b~ing summoned to give testimony in relation to any
matter under investigation, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and
it shall be the duty of the Fire Marshal to cause all offenders to be
prosecuted.
Section 7-40 Inspection of premises; removal or repair of dangerous
conditions.
It shall be the duty of the Fire Marshal to conduct periodic inspection
of all mercantile, manufacturing, and public buildings, together with
the premises. Whenever he shall find any mercantile, maufacturing, or public
building, or any other structure, for want of repair, or by reason of
age or dilapidated condition, or for any cause is especially liable
to fire, and which is so situated as to endanger other buildings or
property, or so occupied that fire would endanger persons or property
therein, and whenever he shall find a non-conforming arrangement of
stoves, ranges, furnaces, or other heatin appliances of any king whatsoever,
including chimney's, flues and pipes with which the same may be connected,
Or a dangerous arrangement of lighting devices, or a dangerous or unlawful
storage of explosives, compounds, petroleum, gasoline, kerosine, dangerous
chemicals, vegetable products, ashes, or combustibles and refuse materials,
or other conditions which may be dangerous in character or liable to
the firemen or occupants, he shall order the same to be removed or
remedied, and such order shall be forthwith complied with by the owner or
occupant of such building or premises. If such owner or occupant deems
himself aggrieved by such order, he may within ten (10) days appeal to the
Municipal Judge who shall cause the case to be investigated, and unless
by his authority the order is revoked, such order shall remain in force and be
forthwith complied with by owner or occupant. Any owner or occupant who fails
or refuses to comply with such order shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor.
Every day's maintenance of any of the conditions covered by such order
shall be a distinct and separate offense.
Section 7-41 Right of entry in case of fire.
The Fire Marshal shall have the authority at all times of the day or night,
when necessary in the performance of the duties imposed upon him by the
provisions of this article, to enter upon and examine any builing or
premises where any fire has occurred, and other buildings and premises
adjoining or near the same, which authority shall be exercised only with
reason and good discretion.
Section 7-42 Records to be kept.
The Fire Marshal shall keep in his office a record of all fires, together
with all facts, statistics and circumstances, including the orgin of
the fires and the amount of the loss, which may be determined by the
investigation requred by this article.
Section 7-43 Monthly reports to state fire marshal.
At the end of each month, the Fire Marshal shall report to the state
Fire Marshal all existing hazardous conditions, together with a separate
report on each fire in the city during the month.
Section 7-44 though 7-54 Reserved.
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ARTICLE IV
Section 7-55
The Chief of the fire department shall have power to modify any of
the provisions of the code adopted by Section 7-1 upon application
in writing by the owner or lessee, or his duly authorized agent,
when there are practical difficulties in the way of carrying out the
strict letter of such code; provided that the spirit of the code shall
be observed, public safety secured, and substantial justice done.
The particulars of each such modification, when granted or allowed,
and the decision of the chief of the fire department thereon shall
be entered upon the records of the fire department and a signed copy shall
be furnished the applicant.
Section 7-56
Whenever the chief of the fire department shall disapprove an application
or refuse to grant a permit applied for under the code adopted by Section
7-1, or when it is claimed that the provisions of such code do not apply
or that the true intent and meaning of such code have been misconstrued
or wrongly interpreted, the applicant may appeal from the decision of
the chief of the fire department to the city council, within thirty (30)
days from the date of the decision appealed.
Section 7-57
The section and the Southern Standard Fire Prevention Code, 1974 Edition,
adopted herein by reference are cumulative of any present ordinance un~
less this section and said Southern Standard Fire Prevention Code, 1974
Edition, are in direct conflict therewith, in which connection this
section and the Southern Standard Fire Prevention Code, 1974 Edition,
shall govern.
ARTICLE V
Ordinances 25, 29, 113, 155, 162, 222,
or parts of ordinances in conflict are
74-C-18, and any other ordinances,
hereby repealed. . ~
.:; I sr day of ~ 1/t5m/4~
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this the
197Y
~c~
. Mayor, City of Schertz, Texas
ATTEST:
(SEAL OF CITY)
PUBLISHER'S AFFIDAVIT
The State of Texas
County of Guadalupe }
Before me, the undersigned authority, on this day personally appeared_______n_.._____...
._m___m______!:'_()_~_Y_~_lE?n..t.?..oo______._.........___.______.._._.._...______...., who being duly sworn says that
he (she) "is the mnoo____.m___:-:~.I?_Hgh__E.l_L_._____...oommm.h.m of __.T.h~.ooY.?:.tlf?_Y...E.i?_1."i~_.oo__mm_'
a weekly newspaper published at oo_:~~_g':1.~~__.________..__.._..._.__._____.___oo.____________oo__oomoo' in said
county and state and that oo..___._._.___..__..___m_oo..~:::.~.~.?.:::....mm............m............m.....m...___.m.,
a copy of which is hereto attached, was published in said newspaper on ..___oo._m..oom___oo____
November 16, 1978
..........=..._...;[);b.../2cf;;zJ:r./q............
Subscribed and sworn to before me this the mmm..3..Qm.m......u..........._mnoo_oo_. day of
. mii~~~~~:~~J~:r!:.:~::..::~:.--.., 19..J.:~..
;;'~"U' Ii
LEGAL NOTICE
AN ORDINANCE OF THE
CITY -OF SCHERTZ",
TEXAS PROVIDING THAI
THE CODE OF ORDINAN-
~,gITY OFSCHER~
TEAA.:!, BE AMENDED.B~
REPEALING CHAPTER 7
OF SAID CODE AND
REPLACING WITH A
REVISED CHAPTER ti.
PROVIDING . FOR TH~
ADOPTION OF THE 1974 C 0
EDITION OF THE .'Jt~. l^-
SOUTHERN STANDARD :0
FIRE PREVENTION
~~Eb' PROVIDING FOR
l FFICES OF FIRE
cmE~.!IRE MARSHAL
ANDuU!.IR ASSISTANTS
AND DUTIEt~ RESCIN-
DING. ALLOnulNANCES
IN COJ.'iWLlCT.
)/'1. I'~ !~I i /0-J At.<-fC:l
.......-At.L"';.~.F'..;'..~..;'<...........~........,.
Notary Public in Ohd for
GUa.G.-tth1f'"e-n....m.m..m.mm..m. County, Texas
-
~'at first reading at
.dij lIleeting of. November 7.
1978.
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