CHAPTER 5
FIRE PREVENTION
| 5.01 | Government of Fire Department |
| 5.015 | Fire District; Boundaries |
| 5.02 | Impeding Fire Equipment Prohibited |
| 5.03 | Vehicles to Yield Right-of-Way |
| 5.04 | Interference With Use of Hydrants Prohibited |
| 5.05 | Driving Over Fire Hose Prohibited |
| 5.06 | Operation of Vehicles Near Fire Equipment Regulated |
| 5.07 | Powers of Chief in Event of Fire |
| 5.08 | Persons Subject to Orders of Chief |
| 5.09 | Right of Firemen to Enter Premises |
| 5.10 | Fire Prevention |
| 5.11 | Burning of Trash and Refuse |
| 5.15 | Penalty |
5.01 GOVERNMENT OF FIRE DEPARTMENT.
The Village Volunteer Fire Department shall be governed as to the duties and compensation of its officers and members, and as to all other things, by the bylaws and rules of the Department. The Fire Chief may make such further rules, regulations and policies for the government of the Fire Department as he may deem necessary, provided such rules and regulations shall not be inconsistent with the laws of Wisconsin.
5.015 The fire district shall consist of all the lands within the Town of Palmyra and the Village of Palmyra located within Township 5 North, Range 16 East, Jefferson County, Wisconsin and was established by an agreement entered into by and between the Village of Palmyra and the Town of Palmyra.
5.02 IMPEDING FIRE EQUIPMENT PROHIBITED.
No person shall impede the progress of the fire engine, fire truck or other fire apparatus of the Village along the streets or alleys of the Village at the time of a fire or when the Fire Department is using such streets or alleys in response to a fire alarm or for practice.
5.03 VEHICLES TO YIELD RIGHT-OF-WAY.
Upon the approach of any authorized emergency vehicle giving audible signal by siren, the operator of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way and shall immediately drive such vehicle to a position as near as possible and parallel to the right curb or the right hand edge of the shoulder of the roadway, clear of any intersection and, unless otherwise directed by a police officer, shall stop and remain standing in such position until the authorized emergency vehicle has passed. See §346.19, Wis. Stats.
5.04 INTERFERENCE WITH USE OF HYDRANTS PROHIBITED.
No person shall occupy any portion of streets or alleys with a motor or other vehicle between such fire engine, fire truck or other fire apparatus or any hydrant to which a fire hose may be or may be about to be attached.
5.05 DRIVING OVER FIRE HOSE PROHIBITED.
No person shall drive or ride in a motor vehicle over any fire hose of the Village.
5.06 OPERATION OF VEHICLES NEAR FIRE EQUIPMENT REGULATED.
No person driving or riding in a motor or other vehicle in the same direction as a fire engine, fire truck or other fire apparatus may be going shall pass or approach within 500 feet of such fire engine, fire truck or other fire apparatus at the time of a fire or an alarm of fire in the Village, and at such times every person so driving or riding shall obey the orders of the officers of the Fire Department as to the use of such streets and alleys.
5.07 POWERS OF CHIEF IN EVENT OF FIRE.
The Fire Chief may prescribe certain limits in the vicinity of any fire within which any persons, excepting firemen and policemen, and those admitted by order of any officer of the Fire Department, shall not be permitted to come, and may cause the removal of any property whenever necessary for the preservation of such property from fire or to protect the adjoining property. He may also cause the removal of all wires and the turn off of all electricity where same interferes with the work of the Fire Department during the progress of a fire.
5.08 PERSONS SUBJECT TO ORDERS OF CHIEF.
Every person who shall be present at a fire shall be subject to the orders of the Fire Chief or officer in command, and if any person refuses to obey such orders after the official character of the officer is made known to him, such officer may arrest any person refusing to obey such orders and hold him in custody until the fire is extinguished, when the person thus arrested shall be taken before a magistrate to be dealt with according to law.
5.09 RIGHT OF FIREMEN TO ENTER PREMISES.
Any fireman while acting under the order or direction of the Chief or other officer in command may enter upon the premises adjacent to or in the vicinity of any building or other property then on fire for the purpose of extinguishing such fire and no person shall hinder or obstruct any fireman in the discharge of his duties.
5.10 FIRE PREVENTION.
(1) DUTIES OF FIRE DEPARTMENT. The Chief of the Fire Department and his assistants shall have and exercise the powers and perform the duties prescribed in this section.
(2) RIGHT OF ACCESS. The Fire Chief and his assistants may enter any building in the Village, except the interior of a private dwelling, at any reasonable hour in the performance of their duties under this section.
(3) INSPECTION OF BUILDINGS AND PREMISES. The Fire Chief and his assistants may inspect any business buildings and premises in the Village for the purpose of determining the general character of the premises with respect to the disposition of debris, rubbish, wastepaper, rags, oils, waste, explosives, all kinds of inflammable material and the means of access from one part of the building to another. They may inspect any building and premises in the Village, except the interior of a private dwelling, for the purpose of ascertaining if any danger from fire exists by reason of defective chimneys, flues, stoves, ovens, furnaces, boilers, electric wiring, ash houses and receptacles or by reason of any other cause.
(4) BUILDINGS AND PREMISES TO BE KEPT FREE OF INFLAMMABLE MATERIAL. All parts of business buildings and premises shall be cleaned daily and kept free from all inflammable material, except that combustible material not in actual use may be neatly arranged in a manner to provide passage way and aisle way for the convenient movement of the Fire Department.
(5) BLOCKING DOORS AND OPENINGS PROHIBITED. All doors and openings, external and internal, in all business buildings shall be kept free from goods of any kind and means of access and free movement shall be provided for the convenient work of the Fire Department.
(6) BUSINESS BUILDINGS DEFINED. The term "business buildings" shall include hotels, lodging houses, stores, office buildings, warehouses, factories and public buildings.
(7) CORRECTIONS OF VIOLATIONS.
(a) Should the Fire Chief or his assistants on such inspection discover that any provision of this chapter is being violated, the Fire Chief shall give notice in writing to the owner or occupants of such building requiring them to comply with the provisions of this chapter within 48 hours.
(b) Should the Fire Chief or his assistants on such inspection discover any danger from fire by reason of any defective condition in sub. (3), or from any other cause, the Fire Chief shall give notice in writing to the owner or occupants of any such building of such defects, requiring them to make reasonable changes and repairs within a specified time or render the premises or building as safe as possible from fire.
5.11 (1) PERMITTED OPEN BURNING. The following open burning shall be permitted:
(a) Outdoor cooking.
(b) Campfires using firewood.
(c) The burning of yard waste and/or scrap building materials.
(d) Fire Department training.
(2) DEFINITIONS.
(a) Firewood. Split logs, tree limbs and unmilled wood cut in segments not exceeding 24 inches in length and intended to be burned as fuel in a camp fire, fireplace, wood-burning stove or similar heat-generating device.
(b) Yard waste is dry leaves, brush or branches and plant material.
(c) Scrap building materials is dry, unpainted, untreated lumber.
(3) SIZE OF PILE. The size of the pile of material to be burned shall not exceed 4 feet by 4 feet by 3 feet high, except that outdoor cooking fires and campfires can be no more than 3 feet by 3 feet by 1 1/2 feet high.
(4) MATERIAL FOR BURNING.
(a) The material for burning shall consist of only the dry burnable material defined in sub. (2).
(b) The material for burning may not include rubbish, garbage, trash, recyclable materials, asphalt or creosote based or coated materials or any material made or coated with rubber, plastic, leather, or petroleum based materials nor lumber or wood which has been painted, stained, varnished, sealed or treated by any process to prevent rot.
(c) The use of flammable or combustible liquids as a fire starter or accelerant is prohibited except common charcoal lighter fluid may be use to start cooking fires.
(5) SUPERVISION. Every fire permitted under this section shall be attended to at all times by a competent person at least 16 years of age with sufficient fire fighting equipment including rakes, shovels, water hose and any other materials needed to allow the property owner to control the fire at all times.
(6) LOCATION.
(a) All permitted burning shall take place on the owners residential property only, with no burning permitted in the roadway, road rights of way, utility easements, municipal easements, on sidewalks or on the property of another.
(b) Burning materials to be located at least 30 feet from any neighboring residence.
(7) TIME OF BURN. Open burning shall be permitted from 7:00 a.m. to one-half hour before sunset except campfires and cooking fires.
(8) PROHIBITIONS.
(a) Open burning shall be prohibited when the wind velocity exceeds 10 miles per hour or upon declaration of a W.D.N.R. burning ban.
(b) No burning is allowed for any business, organization of any kind or any other entity other than a residential property owner, unless it is a controlled burn. See §5.11(10).
(9) COST OF FIRE RUN. Any person, business, corporation or organization which violates the terms of this ordinance, or burns in a manner which results in a fire run by any fire department, shall, in addition to the penalties provided for in §5.15, be liable to the Palmyra Fire District for the current charge of a fire run by the Palmyra Fire Department.
(10) CONTROLLED BURNING REGULATION.
(a) All controlled burns must be authorized in writing by the Fire Chief or his representative.
(b) Any area over one acre in size must be inspected by the Fire Chief or his representative prior to burning.
(c) Controlled burns are subject to atmospheric conditions and availability of Fire District resources.
(d) Persons conducting controlled burns are responsible for any and all damage to property that is intentional or unintentional.
5.15 PENALTY.
Except as otherwise provided, any person found to be in violation of any provision of this chapter or any rule or order promulgated or adopted hereunder shall be subject to a penalty as provided in §25.04 of this Code of Ordinances.