CHAPTER 342. MUNICIPAL FIRE PROTECTION
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.