Constitution

And

By-Laws

 Of the

Frankville Emergency Volunteer Association

September 20004

Articles of Constitution

ARTICLE I

Name & Mission Statement

Section 1:        This organization shall be known as the Frankville Emergency Volunteer Association.

Section 2         The mission of the Association is to provide the manpower for the operation of the Frankville Fire Department. Through the auspices of the Frankville Fire Department, the Association shall provide fire suppression functions, promote fire safety and the prevention of fires, respond to medical and other emergencies; and in general serve the community.

ARTICLE II

Organization & Membership

Section 1:        Organization-

The Association may be composed of three companies, Active, Reserve, and Cadet.

The Active Company shall have no more than twenty-five members. This number shall contain any probationary members along with the regular active members. This company shall be the primary response group of the Association. Members will have full rights and privileges of the Association.

The Reserve Company shall have no more than fifteen members. This company shall provide assistance to the Active Company based on availability.

The Reserve Company shall be composed of those members who now longer have the opportunity to attend training or other specified meetings. Reserve Company members will enjoy all functions of regular membership with the exception of the right to vote at business meetings. However, any member of the Association, at the time of the ratification of these By-Laws, who transfers into the Reserve Company shall retain voting rights providing membership has not been severed for any reason.

The Reserve Company may also include any individuals who may desire associate membership as a First Responder or Emergency Medical Technician but not as a fire fighter. EMS members shall have the right to vote on EMS related matters.

The Cadet Company shall be limited to ten members. This company shall be an associate group who may train with and assist the active members but shall not be authorized to enter into any hazardous situations.

Section 2:        Membership-

Any individual, who lives or works in the Frankville Township and its environs, is of eighteen years of age or older, may apply for membership in the Active Company.

                        Any individual, who is currently a member of the Association, or shall be come a member of the association, who is no longer able to maintain training schedules, but desires to retain a relationship with the Association shall be considered a member in the Reserve Company. Also any individual who desires an EMS relationship with the Association shall be considered for membership in the Reserve Company.

                        Any youth, who resides within or near the Frankville Township, is sixteen years of age, may apply for membership in the Cadet Group.

Section 3:        Application for Membership-

                        Each application shall be made on a provided form where on which the applicant acknowledges the need to train on a regular basis, attend meetings, and to respond to all calls and pages as his personal schedule permits.

                        The applicant shall also provide a statement of health and waiver of claim for submission of false information. A chief officer and one other active member shall interview the applicant prior to submission of the application to the Association. If the applicant is applying for the Cadet Company, said application shall have the written approval of a parent or guardian.

 When a proper application has been made to the Association in request for membership, said application shall be presented to the Association at the next stated business meeting. Upon the written recommendation of the chief officer and member, the application for membership will be presented for a vote of the membership. The application shall be approved or denied by a simple majority of the members present at the stated business meeting.

All individuals elected to new membership in any Association company shall be considered as probationary for the period of one year from the date of their election to membership. Probationary members are not entitled to vote in any business action, but may participate in any discussion.

ARTICLE III

Meetings

Section 1:        The Association may have four types of meetings: Training, Maintenance, Business, and Special.

                        Training meetings are normally held on the first Thursday of each month unless said meeting date shall fall of a stated holiday. In this case, the training may be moved to the next Thursday, or to another date specified by the membership.

                        Maintenance meetings are normally held on the third Thursday of the month. This may be changed as necessary because of other conflicts.

                        Business meetings are normally held on the last Thursday of the month unless said meeting date shall fall on a stated holiday. In this case, the business meeting may be moved to another date specified by the membership at a previous business meeting.

                        Special meetings may be called by the President as required. Notification of a special meeting shall be made a minimum of twenty-four hours prior to said meeting. Notice may be given by page and telephone. Notice of meeting subject shall be given. A quorum must be met to transact any business.

ARTICLE IV

Officers, Members & Duties Thereof

Section 1:        The officers of this Association shall consist of: Chief, Assistant Chief, Captain and Lieutenant, EMS Captain, and President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.

Section 2:        The election of officers shall take place on the February Business meeting of each odd calendar year. Officers so elected shall serve for two years unless they resign the office. In which case the next junior officer shall fill the position until the next business meeting. At that time, an election shall be held to fill any and all vacancies.

                        The fire/tactical officers shall be elected first, followed by the Association officers. The fire /tactical positions shall be filled with regard to experience, length of membership, and desire to serve. Selection of one office shall be completed prior to consideration of the next junior office.

                        If two or more members have been nominated for a particular office, the winner must receive a simple majority of the quorum present. If a simple majority is not reached on the first vote, the two top candidates will be presented for a re-vote. If the resulting vote is a tie, then a re-vote will continue until one candidate receives a majority, or declines the office.

Section 3:        Duties of Members shall be, to the best of their ability: to respond to all pages and calls for fire and emergencies; to take orders and directions from superior officers, or delegated representatives, at fire and emergency incidents: to attend training and practice sessions in a desire to learn and advance their skills; to attend business meetings with a concern for the improvement of the Association.

                        -That all work at incidents, drills, or work sessions shall be done in a quick, orderly and professional manner in accordance with the basic of current fire fighting procedures.

                        -That no member shall leave his position of responsibility without notification to the Officer-in-Charge. That each member shall work to pick up at the scene, clean and restore equipment and vehicles to a ready condition for the next response. No member shall be disrespectful to any officer while on duty at a fire, emergency, drill, meeting, or other official activities.

                        -To work to promote the improvement of the Association in any and all activities.

Section 4:        Duties of the Chief shall be: -To be fully trained in the basics of fire fighting, to be knowledgeable in hazardous materials, emergency management, and the administrative requirements of the office.

-To respond to any and all emergency incidents; to function as the Incident Commander unless delegating that office to some other authority. To provide guidance and direction at the incident scene, above all, keeping in mind the safety of all those working at the scene or in support thereof.

-To assign members specific duties as necessary in the response and recovery phases of the incident. To provide for the collection of, and maintenance of, the names of all members responding to and working at any emergency incident by means of an accountability system.

-To be the chief administrative officer, ensuring that all required forms and reports to the state and other political jurisdictions are completed in a timely manner; that the department's equipment and facilities are maintained in a professional state. To appoint members to such committees as necessary to carry out the tasks of normal maintenance and care of the equipment and facilities.

-To enter into such agreements with other political jurisdictions as may be provided for by legislative law or administrative code.

-To ensure that, while answering mutual aid calls, temporary suitable protection for the community has been provided.

-To provide training direction to all membership. To provide notice of departmental training programs, other area department's training, regional and state training opportunities. To encourage participation in all training opportunities. To keep all membership appraised of the activities of the department in regards to past fires and emergency incidents, using them as training tools for future operations.

-To oversee that all lesson plans, training records, equipment and vehicle maintenance records have been properly recorded and filed by the respective fire officers.

-To remember that, as Chief, elevation to that position was by vote of the membership and continuance of office is by favor of the members of the Association.

Section 5:        Duties of the Assistant Chief: -To be trained in the basics of fire fighting, to have some knowledge of hazardous materials, emergency management, and administrative needs of the office.

                        -To respond to any and all emergency incidents; and in the absence of the Chief, to function as the Incident Commander unless delegating that office to some other authority. To carry out all duties of the Chief in the absence of that officer, and upon the arrival of the Chief, to fully brief the Chief in all previous actions, and to continue to assist the Chief in subsequent activities.

                        -To be the Training Officer of the Department. To chair the Training Committee with the assistance of the Captain. To lead training activities unless that position is delegated for a specific meeting or session. To maintain the lesson plans and general attendance sheets in a general training record file.

                        -In the temporary absence of the Chief, to carry out the duties of the Chief, following any directions given prior to the Chief's absence.

Section 6:        Duties of the Captain:  -To be knowledgeable of the basics of fire fighting, to have some training in hazardous materials, emergency management, and administrative needs of the department.

                        -To respond to any and all emergency incidents. In the absence of the Chief, and Assistant Chief, to function as the Incident Commander unless delegating that office to some other authority. To carry out all duties of the superior officer in the absence of that officer, and if upon the arrival of that officer, to fully brief the officer in all previous actions, to continue to assist the officer in subsequent activities.

                        -To be co-chairman of the Training Committee with the Assistant Chief. To assist the Training Officer at all training activities. To give hands-on guidance to any members so needing. To maintain the training records of the members of the department, assuring that all members have all training sessions recorded and placed in their particular file.

Section 7:        Duties of the Lieutenant: -To have knowledge of the basics of fire fighting, to have initial training in hazardous materials, emergency management, and administrative needs of the department.

                        -To respond to any and all emergency incidents. In the absence of the Chief, or other superior officers, to function as the Incident Commander unless delegating that office to some other authority. To carry out all duties of the superior officer in the absence of that officer, and if upon the arrival of that officer, to fully brief the officer in all previous actions, to continue to assist the officer in subsequent activities.

                        -To be the Vehicle Maintenance Officer: To supervise monthly vehicle and mounted equipment inspections.

                        -To assure that all vehicles and mounted equipment are serviceable and ready to respond to emergencies. To notify the Chief if any unit or equipment requires maintenance beyond the capabilities of the members of the department. To coordinate with the Chief on maintenance of vehicles or equipment with outside vendors.

-To maintain all departmental inspection and maintenance records, and to coordinate them with any external vendor repair records to fully assure that all deficiencies in vehicles and mounted equipment have been resolved.

Section 8:         Duties of the EMS Captain: Shall be certified by IDPH in EMS response; shall have initial

                          Training in hazardous materials as related to emergency care; and shall have knowledge

                          of the administrative needs of emergency medical care records.

                          -To be the Ambulance Operational officer ; to supervise all monthly ambulance vehicle   

                          Inspections as well as all equipment as assigned to that particular unit.

                          -To assure that all EMS equipment is serviceable and ready to respond to medical

                          Emergencies and in support of fire operations.

                          -To act as EMS safety officer at fire scenes in the Frankville Fire Response Area; to

                          monitor the physical health of fire fighters at the scene and to monitor the rehab of all

                          firefighters as needed.

                          -To maintain all EMS personnel training records; to provide the necessary reports as

                          Shall be required by the Iowa Department of Public Health and/or any county agency or

                          association.

Section 9:        Duties of the President: -The president shall preside at all regular and special business meetings of the Association. He shall preserve order and conduct all meetings in conformity to Robert's Rules of Order.

The president shall normally not vote except for application for membership or for selection of officers. In case of a tie vote with the president voting, a re-vote shall be held with the president abstaining.

The president shall be responsible for the general Association records, documents, photos, memorabilia, and any other items not normally held by other officers. The president shall be further responsible for all non-emergency functions of the Association. These include fundraisers and community related events.

Section 10:       Duties of the Vice-President: The vice-president shall assume the role of the president in the absence of that officer.

                        The vice-president shall be the Chairman of the Grievance committee together with two active members selected at the bi-annual election of officers.

Section 11:       Duties of the Secretary: The secretary shall be responsible for a true and accurate account of the proceedings of every business meeting of the Association. The minutes of each and every meeting shall be maintained in a book provided for that purpose. These minutes shall be open for review by any member of the Association.

                        The secretary shall be responsible for the roll call of all members at any business meeting or other non-emergency event.

                        The secretary shall be responsible for the Association's correspondence in accord to the wishes of the members. The secretary shall provide for his absence by leaving the records with a secretary pro-tem prior to the stated meeting.

                        Upon the pleasure of the active voting membership, this position may be combined with that of Treasurer.

Section 12:       Duties of the Treasurer: The Treasurer shall receive all monies of the Association, depositing them in specified accounts at the will and pleasure of the active membership.

                        The treasurer shall present notification of all receipts of funds and donations at each regular stated meeting. The treasurer shall present all bills and claims for reimbursements at each regular stated meeting. A full report of all accounts shall be made at each regular stated meeting.

No disbursements shall be made without the consent of the majority at each regular stated meeting. Special exemptions may be made by the membership at a particular meeting providing the matter is duly presented and voted upon.

The treasurer shall further maintain an accurate record of all receipts and expenditures of the Association. These records shall be open for inspection at any time by the regular membership.

Upon the pleasure of the active voting membership, this position may be combined with that of Secretary.