(A) The Volunteer Fire Department is expressly granted authority to respond to out-of-town fires.
(B) This authority will be restricted to fires which occur within a maximum range of five miles from the nearest city limits or the next Volunteer Fire Department boundary, whichever is closer. It is the specific intent of the city that the Volunteer Fire Department not cross jurisdictional boundaries of another fire department, unless specifically requested by that fire department in an emergency. This area shall include Caldwell County and the No Outlet area. The exception to this limit would be fire runs to Outwood which is mandated by written contract.
(C) The Volunteer Fire Department may respond only to structure and motor vehicle fires, unless in an emergency.
(D) In the event that an emergency should occur which would require the Volunteer Fire Department to respond to a fire beyond the boundaries described above, it shall be the responsibility of the Fire Chief or the Assistant Fire Chief to report, in writing, to the Mayor and to appear before the City Council at the next regularly scheduled Council meeting to answer questions concerning the need to respond beyond the limits set forth above. However, in the event of an emergency situation in which a threat to human life exists, the City Telecommunicator will at his or her discretion dispatch to the scene one or more city fire units regardless of whether or not the emergency exists within the corporate limits of the city (five-mile limit). The Telecommunicator will make his or her decision based on information gained from the caller, and/or emergency, police or ambulance personnel on the scene.
(E) The cost for out-of-town fire runs shall be $500 for structure fires and $250 for vehicle fires. These funds and all funds collected from operation of the Volunteer Fire Department, including any funds currently held in non-authorized accounts, shall be immediately turned in to the City Clerk/Treasurer. All funds received on behalf of the Volunteer Fire Department will be deposited into an appropriate account maintained by the city and labeled accordingly. This income shall be used to supplement the cost of operating the Fire Department. Expenditures of funds by the Volunteer Fire Department from this account shall be reported in the same fashion as required of other departments created under this chapter.
