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Duties of the Board of Fire Commissioners
The Board of Fire Commissioners is tasked with running the Greenfield Fire District. That is, ensuring that the residents of the Greenfield Fire District recieve adequate fire protection.
What is a Fire District?
A fire district is defined as a political subdivision of the State of New York. It is a separate governmental entity from the Town Board, and is very similar to the Board of Education for school districts.
For example, like the School Board, the Board of Fire Commissioners has the power to levy tax for the purpose of fire protection.
Responsibilities of the Board
Note that this is just a summary of the responsibilities of a Fire Commissioner. For the actual definition of fire commissioners you can refer to the New York State Town Law Section 176.
Taken from the NYS Town Law, fire commissioners can do (but aren't limited to) the following:
- Make any and all contracts for the purposes of providing fire protection for the given district
- Organize, operate, maintain and equip fire companies
- Adopt rules and regulations governing all fire companies and fire departments in said district and prescribing the duties of the members thereof and enforce discipline and provide for public drills, parades, funerals, inspections and reviews of the fire district fire department, or any company or unit thereof, within the fire district or at other places within the state, any adjoining state or in Canada.
- Adopt a resolution to employ paid firefighters and paid fire officers including but not limited to a paid chief of the fire district department
- Contract for a supply of water and for the furnishing, erection, maintenance, care and replacement of fire hydrants, including the erection and maintenance of markers therefor, and removal of snow and ice to provide access thereto, for fire purposes for a period not exceeding five years without any appropriation vote therefor by the qualified voters of such district.
- May purchase or lease apparatus and equipment for the extinguishment and the prevention of fires and for the purposes of emergency rescue and first aid and fire police squads.
- For the preservation, protection and storing of fire apparatus and equipment and for the social and recreational use of the firemen and residents of the district and for any of the purposes authorized by law, may acquire by purchase, lease, gift, devise or by condemnation, real property and erect, construct, alter, repair and equip suitable buildings.