Here is the copy of the Draft Fire and Rescue ordinance. Have fun!
UPDATE: There has been a question about the fire marshal’s office. Mr. Teevan (the fire marshal) posts the following:
“Meanwhile anyone with questions can give us a call at 703-257-8455 or email us at firemarshal@manassasva.gov. Remember when you change your clock this weekend, change your smoke detector batteries.”
October 22, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Fun! My brain just imploded.
Just one comment. The Public Safety Committee. When I hear that, I think police and emergency preparedness. Shouldn’t it be the Fire and Rescue Safety Committee? Or should a rep from emergency preparedness and even a rep from police be on the committee?
Great job on 1) the draft ordinance and 2) sharing it with us.
October 25, 2009 at 3:38 pm
Thanks to fire fighters for participating in the Point of Woods 3 fall festival today! The neighborhood leaders and Manassas St Thomas church volunteers have worked hard to make a difference in that neighborhood and their energy and persistence is paying off. Today was a real community building event!
October 25, 2009 at 8:01 pm
Very nice job on the ordinance but I have a few questions. 1. Section 60-42 #109.4 requires all buildings in the City be inspected annually. The FM’s office only has two people. How are two people supposed to inspect all buildings in the City, especially since one of them rarely leaves the office? And if they don’t, since the word shall is used, are they in violation of the City ordinance? 2. The ordinace says Use Group R buildings shall be inspected annually. The code exempts certain use group R buildings from routine inspections such as single family and townhouse homes. How do you rectify the wording in that portion of the ordinance? 3. I don’t see a rank under Section 60-5 for the FM’s. Do they not hold a rank?
October 27, 2009 at 1:51 am
Fire Marshal is a rank, and they are considered to be officers in a Fire Department – it is a long historical title. Depending on Fire Departments, they are either a stand-alone FM or are placed under a Deputy Chief. In larger Fire Departments, they place them between the rank of Firefighter and Fire Lieutenant. Move up to State Level, and they have even more command authority by law.
They don’t have a rank as in Captain, etc. because they are “Marshals” with authority to enforce laws, make arrests and in some locations like New York City, carry a sidearm….just like the Town Marshal. Haven’t looked specifically to Virginia Code (or gotten very deep into the draft) to see what the duties are….too much other reading at the moment, but I’ll get there 🙂
October 27, 2009 at 8:33 am
Manassas City FM’s are law enforcement officers who carry sidearms. They get their authority from Title 27 of the Code of VA. And many of the local FD’s FMs have a rank. They should be listed where they stand in the heirarchy (sp?). They are responsible for all fire related investigations including criminal acts such as felony arson and all the way down to enforcing the SFPC which are class 1 misdemeanors.
October 27, 2009 at 6:00 pm
Andy, I was told that some folks on your blog had questions about the Fire Marshal’s Office in Manassas. We have a Power Point program available that folks can view that gives alot of good information about our role and responsibilities. I will get it posted to our fire and rescue website by the end of the week. Meanwhile anyone with questions can give us a call at 703-257-8455 or email us at firemarshal@manassasva.gov. Remember when you change your clock this weekend, change your smoke detector batteries.
Frank Teevan, Fire Marshal
October 28, 2009 at 7:10 am
Thanks Frank!!
October 29, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Andy, Here is the link to our website. Unfortunately, the full version of the power point file was too large to be posted with all of the pictures so we decreased it to just the text. I have the presentation on disk and will be happy to mail it to anyone that wants to view the full version or they can stop by the office and pick up a disk.
http://www.manassascity.org/DocumentView.aspx?DID=3266
Thanks,
Frank Teevan, Fire Marshal
City of Manassas Fire and Rescue Department