2005 Texas Local Government Code CHAPTER 342. MUNICIPAL FIRE PROTECTION

LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE

CHAPTER 342. MUNICIPAL FIRE PROTECTION

SUBCHAPTER A. PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO TYPE A GENERAL-LAW 
MUNICIPALITY


	§ 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, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.                    


	§ 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, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.                    


	§ 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, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.  Amended 
by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 1, § 87(t), eff. Aug. 28, 1989;  Acts 
2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1420, § 12.002(10), eff. Sept. 1, 2001.


	§ 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, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.                    


	§ 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, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.                    

SUBCHAPTER B. PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO HOME-RULE MUNICIPALITY


	§ 342.011. FIRE DEPARTMENT.  A home-rule municipality may 
provide for a fire department.

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


	§ 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, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.                    

SUBCHAPTER C. MUTUAL FIRE-PROTECTION AGREEMENTS


	§ 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, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.  Amended 
by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 1, § 87(u), eff. Aug. 28, 1989.