SECTIONS 13860-13879

13860.  A district has perpetual succession.13861.  A district shall have and may exercise all rights andpowers, expressed or implied, necessary to carry out the purposes andintent of this part, including, but not limited to, the followingpowers: (a) To sue and be sued. (b) To acquire any property, including water facilities forproviding fire protection, within the district by any means, to hold,manage, occupy, dispose of, convey and encumber the property, and tocreate a leasehold interest in the property for the benefit of thedistrict. (c) To acquire by eminent domain any property necessary to carryout any of its powers or functions. (d) To appoint necessary employees, to define their qualificationsand duties, and to provide a pay schedule for performance of theirduties. (e) To employ counsel. (f) To enter into and perform all necessary contracts pursuant toArticle 53 (commencing with Section 20810) of Part 3 of Division 2 ofthe Public Contract Code. (g) To adopt a seal and alter it at pleasure. (h) To adopt ordinances following the procedures of Article 7(commencing with Section 25120) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division 2of Title 3 of the Government Code. (i) To establish and enforce rules and regulations for theadministration, operation, and maintenance of the services listed inSection 13862. (j) To enter joint powers agreements pursuant to Chapter 5(commencing with Section 6500) of Division 7 of Title 1 of theGovernment Code. (k) To provide insurance pursuant to Part 6 (commencing withSection 989) of Division 3.6 of Title 1 of the Government Code.13862.  A district shall have the power to provide the followingservices: (a) Fire protection services. (b) Rescue services. (c) Emergency medical services. (d) Hazardous material emergency response services. (e) Ambulance services, pursuant to Division 2.5 (commencing withSection 1797). (f) Any other services relating to the protection of lives andproperty.13863.  (a) A district may enter into mutual aid agreements with anyfederal or state agency, any city, county, city and county, specialdistrict, or federally recognized Indian tribe. (b) A district may also enter into mutual aid agreements with anyprivate firm, corporation, or federally recognized Indian tribe thatmaintains a full-time fire department. The firm, corporation, orfederally recognized Indian tribe, or any of its employees, shallhave the same immunity from liability for civil damages on account ofpersonal injury to or death of any person or damage to propertyresulting from acts or omissions of its fire department personnel inthe performance of the provisions of the mutual aid agreement as isprovided by law for the district and its employees, except when theact or omission occurs on property under the control of the firm,corporation, or federally recognized Indian tribe.13864.  A district may lease or rent any property from an employee,including but not limited to, vehicles or equipment.13865.  A district may join any local, state, or national group orassociation which promotes the preservation of life and property fromthe hazards of fire and other disasters.13866.  A district may authorize its directors and employees toattend professional or vocational meetings and pay their actual andnecessary traveling and incidental expenses while on officialbusiness. Reimbursement for these expenses is subject to Sections53232.2 and 53232.3 of the Government Code.13867.  The acquisition of any equipment for fire protectionpurposes shall conform to the standardization provisions of Article 1(commencing with Section 13025) of Chapter 2 of Part 1.13868.  (a) A district board shall keep a record of all its acts,including its financial transactions. (b) A district may destroy a record pursuant to Chapter 7(commencing with Section 60200) of Division 1 of Title 6 of theGovernment Code.13869.  A district may adopt a fire prevention code by referencepursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 50022) of Chapter 1 ofPart 1 of Division 1 of Title 5 of the Government Code. For thatpurpose, the district board shall be deemed a legislative body andthe district shall be deemed a local agency.13869.7.  (a) Any fire protection district organized pursuant toPart 2.7 (commencing with Section 13800) of Division 12 may adoptbuilding standards relating to fire and panic safety that are morestringent than those building standards adopted by the State FireMarshal and contained in the California Building Standards Code. Forthese purposes, the district board shall be deemed a legislative bodyand the district shall be deemed a local agency. Any changes ormodifications that are more stringent than the requirements publishedin the California Building Standards Code relating to fire and panicsafety shall be subject to subdivision (b) of Section 18941.5. (b) Any fire protection district that proposes to adopt anordinance pursuant to this section shall, not less than 30 days priorto noticing a proposed ordinance for public hearing, provide a copyof that ordinance, together with the adopted findings made pursuantto subdivision (a), to the city, county, or city and county where theordinance will apply. The city, county, or city and county, mayprovide the district with written comments, which shall become partof the fire protection district's public hearing record. (c) The fire protection district shall transmit the adoptedordinance to the city, county, or city and county where the ordinancewill apply. The legislative body of the city, county, or city andcounty, may ratify, modify, or deny an adopted ordinance and transmitits determination to the district within 15 days of thedetermination. Any modification or denial of an adopted ordinanceshall include a written statement describing the reasons for anymodifications or denial. No ordinance adopted by the district shallbe effective until ratification by the city, county, or city andcounty where the ordinance will apply. Upon ratification of anadopted ordinance, the city, county, or city and county, shall file acopy of the findings of the district, and any findings of the city,county, or city and county, together with the adopted ordinanceexpressly marked and identified to which each finding refers, withthe Department of Housing and Community Development. (d) Nothing in this section shall authorize a district to mandate,nor prohibit a district from mandating, the installation ofresidential fire sprinkler systems within newly constructed dwellingunits or in new additions to existing dwelling units, including, butnot limited to, manufactured homes as defined in Section 18007. (e) Nothing in this section shall authorize a district to mandate,nor prohibit a district from mandating, the retrofitting of existingdwelling units for the installation of residential fire sprinklersystems, including, but not limited to, manufactured homes as definedin Section 18007. (f) Nothing in this section shall apply in any manner tolitigation filed prior to January 1, 1991, regarding an ordinance orregulation which mandates the installation of residential firesprinkler systems within newly constructed dwelling units or in newadditions to existing dwelling units. (g) This section shall not apply to fire and panic safetyrequirements for the public schools adopted by the State Fire Marshalpursuant to Section 13143. (h) (1) A city, county, or city and county that ratifies anordinance relating to fire and panic safety pursuant to this sectionshall delegate the enforcement of the ordinance to either of thefollowing: (A) The chief of the fire protection district that adopted theordinance, or his or her authorized representative. (B) The chief building official of the city, county, or city andcounty, or his or her authorized representative. (2) Any fee charged pursuant to the enforcement authority of thissubdivision shall not exceed the estimated reasonable cost ofproviding the service for which the fee is charged, pursuant toSection 66014 of the Government Code.13870.  (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a districtboard or its authorized representative may issue a written order tocorrect or eliminate a fire hazard or life hazard. (b) Any person who has been ordered to immediately correct oreliminate a fire hazard or life hazard pursuant to subdivision (a)and who believes that strict compliance with the order would causeundue hardship may, within 10 days, present a written request to thedistrict board requesting a hearing on and a review of the order. Therequest shall state the reasons for making the request. (c) Within 30 days of the receipt of a written request pursuant tosubdivision (b), the district board or its authorized representativeshall hold a hearing. The board may modify, vacate, or affirm theorder.13871.  (a) Any citation issued by a district for violation of afire prevention code or a district ordinance may be processedpursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 17 of the Penal Code. (b) Every person who fails or refuses to correct or eliminate afire or life hazard after written order of a district board or itsauthorized representative is guilty of a misdemeanor. (c) Every person who falsely personates a member of a districtboard or an officer or employee of a district is guilty of amisdemeanor. (d) Every misdemeanor is punishable pursuant to Section 19 of thePenal Code.13872.  A district may, by ordinance, authorize its fire chief, orhis or her duly authorized representative, to issue citations for themisdemeanors specified in Section 13871. The provisions of Chapter5C (commencing with Section 853.5) of Title 4 of Part 2 of the PenalCode shall apply.13872.5.  The fire chief of a city, city and county, or county firedepartment, or his or her authorized representative, has the sameauthority as specified in Sections 13870 to 13872, inclusive, toissue a written order to correct or eliminate a fire hazard or lifehazard, hold hearings and modify, vacate, or affirm those orders, andissue citations if so authorized by ordinance of the city, city andcounty, or county. This section does not limit or affect anyauthority of a fire chief or authorized representative of a firechief under any local ordinance.13873.  Employees of a district shall have the powers of peaceofficers while engaged in the prevention and suppression of fires andthe protection and preservation of life and property, including, butnot limited to, actions associated with rescue services, emergencymedical services, hazardous material emergency response services, andambulance services.13874.  If a district board has adopted regulations for the controlof open fires, no person shall burn any material without a permit. Adistrict shall not issue a permit to burn any material which wouldnot be permitted by an air pollution control district or an airquality management district, or any other state or federal agency.13875.  A district may prepare and disseminate information andoperate educational programs, including, but not limited to, thosewhich help to prevent fire, eliminate life hazards, and prepare formedical emergencies.13876.  A district board may adopt a resolution to change the nameof the district. The resolution shall comply with the requirements ofChapter 23 (commencing with Section 7530) of Division 7 of Title 1of the Government Code. Within 10 days of its adoption, the districtboard shall file a copy of the resolution with the county clerk, andthe board of supervisors and the local agency formation commission ofeach county in which the district is located.13877.  A district board may authorize the use of any vehicle,apparatus, or equipment outside the district, subject to any termsand conditions it prescribes.13878.  A district may contract with any person or public agency toprovide district services to territory which is outside the district.A contract shall provide for payment in advance.13879.  A district board may abate hazardous weeds and rubbishpursuant to Part 5 (commencing with Section 14875). For that purpose,the district board shall be deemed to be a "board of supervisors"and district employees shall be deemed to be the "persons" designatedby Section 14890.