BETSY LAYNE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT

REVISED BY-LAWS

    FEBRUARY 9TH, 2015

    ARTICLE I. OFFICERS

Section A. The administrative officers of the department shall be elected by members in good standing and shall be as follows:

 (1) President
 (1) Vice President
  (1) Secretary
 (1) Quarter Master

Section B. The following line officers shall be appointed by the board members and shall be as follows: 
  

(1) Fire Chief
   (1) Assistant Fire Chief
     (1) Captain
      (2) Lieutenants

*Subsection A. Qualifications for line officers shall be someone who is a certified firefighter who has learned to obey orders from their superior officers and attends fires and meetings with regularity.   

Section C. The appointed officers shall be appointed annually by the Fire Chief and shall be as follows:
 

(1) Safety Officer
(1) Water Resource Officer
(1) Public Relations Officer
(1) Fire Code Inspector

(1) Public Information Officer

Section D. All administrative officers shall be elected for a period of one year on until he resigns or fails to carry out his duties.

Section E. Any officer or member who fails to comply with the rules and regulations of the department shall be given a fair trial and voted upon by the members present after all members have been notified by mail five (5) days in advance of the hearing at the regular meeting.  Majority vote shall rule on the penalty or expulsion from membership.

Section F. Nominations and elections shall be at the first regular scheduled business meeting in February of each year.

Section G. All delegates shall be present and in good standing at the time of nominations and elections except due to sickness, out on department business, or personal business if notified by phone prior to the meeting.

 Section H. Any officer who misses any combination of three (3) consecutive Monday regular business meetings or Thursday regular training meetings will automatically lose his office except due to sickness, work schedule, or official business as quoted by NFPA standards'.

Section I. Nominations and elections shall be held at the next regular scheduled meeting after the vacancy of an office occurs.

Section J. All elections shall be by secret ballot.  The ballots are to be counted by the President and Fire Chief.  If the office of President is challenged, the ballots will be counted by the Vice President and Fire Chief.  Winner will be announced as winner.  Ballots will be sealed in an envelope and kept by the President for twenty-four (24) hours.  Anyone not satisfied with the count may request a recount within twenty-four (24) hours after the election.  Recount will be made by two board members and the results will be final.

ARTICLE II. MEMBERSHIP

Section A. Membership to the department shall be volunteer.

Section B. The regular work shall be carried out by the active members.
                  
Section C. An active member in good standing may vote on all business brought before the department.

Section D. An active member shall be considered in good standing when he was a member during the preceding year, has obtained the previous years 20-mandatory fire training hours to maintain active status, and is not currently serving on either a probationary or junior firefighter status at any time prior to the February election meeting being called to order making it eligible for him to both vote and/or accept nomination for any office in which he is qualified.

Section E. A delinquent member must wait a period of sixty-three (63) days before being eligible to vote on any business or in any election after he resumes active status.
*DEFINITION: delinquent member shall be considered as so when he fails to attend twenty-five (25) percent of training meetings, regular business meetings, and incidents within a yearly quarter except due to sickness, work schedule, or official business as quoted by NFPA standards.

Subsection A. Any member who fails to complete at least twenty (20) annual firefighting training hours shall not be eligible for any fire department benefits which will be considered as any gifts given to the firefighters from the fire department board members.  Members who do not obtain required annual training hours will automatically be placed on the inactive list at the end of the calendar year and remain as so until acquiring necessary total number of hours.  Any inactive member will not be covered by fire dept. insurance policies, workman’s comp., or the state fire commission therefore should not respond to any emergency calls.

Subsection B. Delinquent members may be requested by certified mail to appear before the line officers at their next meeting to explain their attendance.  Failure to appear may result in a warning, probationary period, or termination from membership.  If a member can not appear at the meeting due to sickness, official business, or work schedule, a line officer shall be notified prior to the meeting.  A special-called officers meeting can be held at a mutually agreeable time to accommodate work schedule conflicts.  A majority of line officers may vote to take action concerning the delinquent member.  Actions may include a warning, probationary period, or expulsion from membership and majority vote shall rule.

Subsection C. All firefighter and junior firefighter disciplinary actions will be conducted by the board of line officers.

Section F. Upon receiving an application, it shall be reviewed by the committee of line officers.  The applicant shall be requested to attend the next regular scheduled officers meeting for an oral interview.  The officers shall then vote to accept or reject the applicant.  If the applicant is approved, he shall abide by the by-laws set forth by the department, and be placed on a six-month probation period.  After one month has passed, the committee shall once again review the application and, if the applicant is again approved, he shall be issued turnout gear and a unit number.  No other firefighting equipment shall be issued until obtaining the 20 recommended training hours as set fourth by the state fire commission as listed in Subsection D.  Turnouts and radio communications equipment will only be issued after completion of the hours and then only after approval by the committee of line officers.  Until this time, the firefighter shall remain on the active roster and not respond to any emergency calls.  After the six months of training has passed, the applicant will again be reviewed by the committee.  If received, the applicant shall be considered a full member and have an eligible vote on any department business or in any election.  Before he is accepted, as a full member, he shall be considered an apprentice fireperson.

Subsection A. If a member becomes inactive for less than one year, he may request a vote of the line officers to resume active status.  He shall not respond to any Betsy Layne Fire Dept. calls until he has returned to active status.  If he does not desire to return to active status and has not already done so, he shall make arrangements to return all BLFD issued turnouts, radio and/or pager, and any other equipment to the Quartermaster or a line officer.

Subsection B. If a member has been inactive for over one year (365 days), he shall apply by another application and follow the rules set forth in Article II Section F of the revised by-laws.  If he has not already done so, he shall make arrangements to return all BLFD issued turnouts, radio and/or pager, and any other equipment to Quartermaster or a line officer.

Subsection C. Any apprentice serving during a six-month probation period may be dismissed at any time by majority opinion of line officers.           

Subsection D. The twenty training hours recommended by the state fire commission are Administration/Organization (2), Safety Training (2), Fire Behavior (1), Portable Extinguishers (1), Personal Protective Equipment (3), Forcible Entry (1), Ventilation (1), Ropes/Knots/Hitches (1), Ladders (2), Hose/Nozzles/Appliances (2), Fire Control (1), Loss Control (2), and Drivers' Training-Personal Vehicle (1).

Section G. Guidelines for voting on applications.  These were adopted by the line officers for their use in deciding to receive or reject applicants.

1. Does he attend business meetings with regularity?
2. Does he attend training meetings with regularity?
3. Does he attend incidents with regularity?
4. Does he respond to orders?  How?
5. How does he react to or with peers?
6. Does he seem dedicated?
7. Does he seem to be interested in learning?
8. Does he understand the by-laws, standard operating procedures, and standard operating guidelines of the department?
9. Does he obey the department’s by-laws and standard operating procedures along with Kentucky state laws?
10. Does he conduct himself in a well manner toward the public and does he create a good public image for the department?

Subsection A. These questions will be answered for the applicant by the line officers at the officers meeting.  Majority vote shall rule.  The President shall have the right to answer a question but only in the event of breaking a tie.

Subsection B. The questions will be answered by the line officers.  Each line officer will have an opportunity to decide on their respective answers to these questions by the attitude and actions of the applicant during his probation period.  Applicants must be approved by seven (7) out of ten (10) questions.

Section H. Guidelines for nominating/electing Firefighter Board Trustee.

1. Trustee shall be in good standing prior to nomination and election.

2. Trustee shall have at least two years of experience as a firefighter of the Betsy Layne Fire Protection District.

3. Trustee shall be a certified firefighter.

4. Trustee should be competent, knowledgable, of good character, and of good ability.

5. Trustee shall be a property owner within the Betsy Layne Fire Protection District.

6. Trustee shall maintain a record of good standing throughout the term.

7. If the trustee fails to maintain a record of good standing or fails to represent the firefighters within the best interest of the Betsy Layne Fire Protection District, the line officers of this district reserves the right to remove the trustee from the office at any time during the term.

8.  In the event the firefighter trustee's office becomes vacant at any time during the term, nominations and elections shall be held at the next regular-scheduled business meeting after the vacancy of the office occurs.

ARTICLE III. RULES AND AMENDMENTS

Section A. Five members, of which one must be an officer, shall be able to constitute a quorum to vote on any business at any special-called meeting.

Section B. To call a special business meeting, all members are to be notified by mail five (5) days in advance.

Section C. Each member shall be fully responsible for all equipment issued to him. Upon resignation or dismissal from the department, the individual shall immediately return all said equipment to the Quartermaster or a line officer.

Section D. Anyone taking equipment from the trucks or fire house without permission from the Quartermaster shall be prosecuted by the court of law.

Section E. Any equipment loaned from either the fire trucks or fire station shall ONLY be allowed at the discretion of a line officer.

Section F. The officer checking out equipment to authorized personnel shall get a signed list of items for the Quartermaster and shall be responsible for this equipment being returned.

Section G. The highest ranking officer must accept this responsibility at the scene of an emergency or otherwise if available.

Section H. No alcoholic beverages or illegal drugs are allowed on the premises.

Section I.  The by-laws, standard operating procedures, standard operating guidelines, and junior firefighter by-laws shall be posted at the fire station at all times.

Section J. No firearms shall be allowed on the premises unless the individual is an officer of the law with the exception that the member possesses a valid Kentucky Carrying Concealed Deadly Weapon license however no one still can brandish a firearm.

Section K. Any apprentice or member causing a disturbance or conflict within the department will be given one warning only.  Upon second offense, he may be dismissed by a motion of dismissal of a member.  The motion shall be voted upon by the members present and majority vote shall rule. 
Subsection A. Before an officer can be dismissed by the department, the department must recognize the rules set forth in Article I. Section D. of the revised by-laws.

Section L. No one is to use the emergency fire phone for personal business or out-going calls.

ARTICLE IV. RULE CHANGES

Section A. All rules, regulations, and by-laws can be changed by two-thirds members present at any regular scheduled business meeting.