CHAPTER 342. MUNICIPAL FIRE PROTECTION - Texas Statutes

LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE

TITLE 11. PUBLIC SAFETY

SUBTITLE A. MUNICIPAL PUBLIC SAFETY

CHAPTER 342. MUNICIPAL FIRE PROTECTION

SUBCHAPTER A. PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO TYPE A GENERAL-LAW

MUNICIPALITY

Sec. 342.001. SUBCHAPTER APPLICABLE TO TYPE A GENERAL-LAW

MUNICIPALITY. This subchapter applies only to a Type A

general-law municipality.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 342.002. RULES RELATING TO FRAME BUILDINGS. (a) The

governing body of the municipality may, for the purpose of

preventing calamitous fires, prohibit the construction, location,

relocation, or repair of wooden buildings within areas of the

municipality designated by the governing body. Within those

areas, the governing body may:

(1) prohibit the relocation of a wooden building from outside

the area to a site in the area;

(2) prohibit the relocation of a wooden building from one site

to another in the area;

(3) direct that all buildings within the area be constructed of

fireproof materials;

(4) prohibit the rebuilding or repairing in the area of a wooden

building that has been damaged to the extent of 50 percent or

more of its value;

(5) declare to be a nuisance any dilapidated building; and

(6) declare to be a nuisance any wooden building that is in the

area and that the governing body considers a danger to contiguous

buildings or considers a cause or promoter of fires.

(b) The governing body may determine the method of ascertaining

damage under Subsection (a)(4) and may direct the manner in which

a building declared to be a nuisance under Subsection (a)(5) or

(6) is to be repaired or removed or the nuisance is to be abated.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 342.003. FIRE REGULATIONS. (a) The governing body of the

municipality may:

(1) prohibit dangerous chimneys, flues, fireplaces, stovepipes,

ovens, and other apparatus used in or about any building, and

require the apparatus to be removed or placed in a safe

condition;

(2) prohibit the unsafe deposit of ashes;

(3) appoint officers who may enter any building or enclosure to

examine and determine whether it is in a dangerous condition and,

if the building or enclosure is in a dangerous condition, require

that it be put in a safe condition;

(4) require the inhabitant of a building to maintain as many

fire buckets and means of access to the roof as prescribed by the

governing body, and regulate the use of those items in the event

of a fire;

(5) require the owner or occupant of a building to maintain

access to the roof and to stairs or ladders that lead to the

roof;

(6) prohibit or otherwise regulate factories and other works

that pose a danger of promoting or causing fires;

(7) prohibit or otherwise regulate the erection of cotton

presses and sheds;

(8) prohibit or otherwise regulate the use of fireworks and

firearms;

(9) prohibit, direct, or otherwise regulate the keeping and

management of buildings within the municipality that are used to

store gunpowder or other combustible, explosive, or dangerous

materials, and regulate the keeping and conveying of those

materials;

(10) regulate the building of parapet or party walls;

(11) authorize the mayor or other municipal officers, including

the officers of fire companies, to keep away from the vicinity of

any fire all idle, disorderly, or suspicious persons, and to

arrest and confine those persons;

(12) compel municipal officers and all other persons to aid in

extinguishing fires, preserving property exposed to the danger of

fire, and preventing theft; and

(13) adopt other rules for the prevention and extinguishment of

fires as the governing body considers necessary.

(b) Subsection (a)(8) or (9) does not authorize a municipality

to adopt any prohibition or other regulation in violation of

Section 229.001.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 1, Sec. 87(t), eff. Aug. 28,

1989; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1420, Sec. 12.002(10), eff. Sept.

1, 2001.

Sec. 342.004. FIRE DEPARTMENT. (a) The governing body of the

municipality may organize a fire department consisting of fire

companies and the chief and any assistant engineers. The

governing body shall prescribe the powers and duties of the fire

department and its officers.

(b) Each company may elect its own members and officers. A

company may adopt a constitution and bylaws that are not

inconsistent with the statutes and the municipal ordinances.

(c) The fire department engineers shall be chosen as determined

by the department, subject to the approval of the governing body,

which shall pass ordinances that it considers necessary for the

welfare of the department. The mayor shall commission each

elected officer approved by the governing body.

(d) The governing body may obtain fire engines and other

fire-protection equipment, control the use of the equipment, and

provide fire stations to preserve the equipment. The fire

department shall maintain the fire engines and other

fire-protection equipment.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 342.005. DESTRUCTION OF BUILDINGS; CLAIM. (a) If a

building in the municipality is on fire, the chief or acting

chief engineer of the fire department with the concurrence of the

mayor may order the burning building, or any other building

determined to be hazardous and likely to transmit the fire to

additional buildings, to be destroyed.

(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the municipality and

the officers that act under Subsection (a) are not liable for

damages resulting from the destruction.

(c) Within six months after the date a building is destroyed

under this section, a person who has an interest in the building

may apply in writing to the governing body of the municipality to

request the governing body to assess and pay the damages of the

person. If the governing body and the claimant cannot agree on

the terms of adjustment, they shall refer the application to

three commissioners, one appointed by the claimant, one appointed

by the governing body, and one appointed jointly by both parties.

The commissioners must be qualified voters and owners of real

property in the municipality. The commissioners shall swear to

faithfully execute their duty to the best of their ability. They

may subpoena and swear witnesses. They shall give all parties a

fair and impartial hearing and shall give notice of the time and

place of each meeting. They shall take into account the

probabilities of the destruction of the building by fire if the

municipality had not destroyed the building and the loss of any

insurance on the property caused by the destruction. They may

report that no damages should equitably be allowed to the

claimant. If a report is made and confirmed for the appraisal of

the damages, compliance with the terms of that report by the

governing body constitutes full satisfaction of those damages.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

SUBCHAPTER B. PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO HOME-RULE MUNICIPALITY

Sec. 342.011. FIRE DEPARTMENT. A home-rule municipality may

provide for a fire department.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 342.012. DESIGNATION OF FIRE LIMITS; REMOVAL OR DESTRUCTION

OF STRUCTURES. (a) A home-rule municipality may establish fire

limits and may prescribe the kind and character of structures and

other improvements erected within those limits.

(b) The municipality may provide for the erection of fireproof

buildings within certain limits and may condemn dangerous

buildings or other structures, dilapidated buildings, or

buildings considered to increase the hazard of fire. The

municipality may provide for the manner of the removal or

destruction of those buildings or structures.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

SUBCHAPTER C. MUTUAL FIRE-PROTECTION AGREEMENTS

Sec. 342.020. MUTUAL FIRE-PROTECTION AGREEMENTS IN BORDER

MUNICIPALITIES. (a) A municipality in this state that is

located on the border between this state and the Republic of

Mexico may make a mutual fire-protection agreement with its

corresponding border municipality in the Republic of Mexico.

(b) Any fire fighter from a border municipality in this state

who responds to a call for fire-fighting assistance from the

corresponding border municipality in the Republic of Mexico under

the terms of an agreement authorized by this section is

performing the fire fighter's official duty for the purposes of

Article III, Section 51-d, of the Texas Constitution.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 1, Sec. 87(u), eff. Aug. 28,

1989.