Chapter XXVI. *to organize the several Fire Companies in the District of Columbia.* March 2, 1837. *Be it enacted, &c.*, That, from and after the passage of this act, the fire companies of Washington, Georgetown, and Alexandria, in the districtPowers, &c. of certain fire companies. of Columbia, and those which ma
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Chap. XXVI.— An Act *to organize the several Fire Companies in the District of Columbia.* March 2, 1837. *Be it enacted, &c.*, That, from and after the passage of this act, the fire companies of Washington, Georgetown, and Alexandria, in the districtPowers, &c. of certain fire companies. of Columbia, and those which may hereafter be formed in either of the said cities, shall, when so formed, severally have power to frame their own constitution, and adopt by-laws for their own regulation, and to elect their own officers, who, and the members of the several companies, shall be exempt from the performance of military duty in time of peace, so long as they shall continue active members thereof; and the certificate of the several presidents of the said companies, attested by the secretary, shall be sufficient evidence of membership: *Provided, *Proviso.That no company now formed, or hereafter to be formed, as aforesaid, shall have the benefit of this act, until it shall first obtain a fire apparatus of the value of at least five hundred dollars: *And, provided,* A companyProviso. possessing an apparatus of the value of five hundred dollars, shall not exempt more than seventy-five; and a company possessing an apparatus of the value of one thousand dollars and upwards, shall not exempt more than one hundred.
Sec. 2. *And be it further enacted,* That the corporate authorities inExamination of fire apparatus, &c. each of the said cities shall, annually, appoint an inspector, whose duty it shall be to examine the condition of the fire apparatus belonging to each fire company at least once in every month, and to report its state to a fire department, to be composed of the presidents of the respective fire companies in each of the said cities, who are hereby constituted a fire department for that purpose, which shall sit monthly, at the townhouse in the city to which they belong.
And if the said inspector shall report that the fire apparatus of any one of the said fire companies is so defective or out of repair as to be of less value than five hundred dollars, or unfit for service, and the company or companies whose apparatus shall be thus reported to be so depreciated in value or out of repair, shall permit the same to continue so for one calendar month, the said company or companies shall thereupon forfeit all the rights, privileges, and immunities, granted by this act; and it shall be the duty of the said inspector to communicate this fact to the adjutant of the regiment of the city in which such company or companies may belong. 688 TWENTY-FOURTH CONGRESS.
Sess. II. Ch. 26. 1837. Sec. 3. Obedience may be enforced by fine, &c. *And be it further enacted,* That each of the said fire companies shall have power to enforce obedience to its constitution and by-laws by fine and forfeiture; and to collect all such fines by warrant, to be issued by a justice of the peace in the city where such company belong, in the name of the said company; and the certificate of the president of such company, that the person so fined has been fined for disobedience to the constitution or by-laws (as the case may be) of fire company in city, attested by the secretary of the said company, shall be sufficient evidence for the magistrate to issue his warrant, and, after having the party before him, to enter up judgment, and issue execution Proviso.thereon: *Provided,* Proof of such fine shall be made by the record thereof produced before the justice, and proved by the secretary; and, if either of the said companies shall expel any member thereof, he, the said member so expelled, shall thereupon forfeit all the rights, privileges, and immunities, granted by this act; and it shall be the duty of the secretary of the company from which the said member shall be so expelled, immediately to inform the captain of the militia company within whose limits the said member shall reside, that he has been so expelled; and the said expelled member shall thereupon be enrolled in the said militia company, and compelled to perform military duty, if otherwise liable to do military duty.
Sec. 4. Money collected. *And be it further enacted,* That all and every sum and sums of money collected under the authority of this act, shall be paid over by the officer or other person collecting the same, to the treasurer of the company, in the name of which the warrant shall have been issued, or money collected; and upon such officer or other person failing so to pay over the same, the said treasurer may recover the same by warrant or suit, in his own name, for the use of the said fire company, in the Shall provide funds for the relief of certain members.same manner us private debts are now recovered by law.
And each and every of the said fire companies now existing, or which may hereafter be formed, as aforesaid, shall, each for itself, provide a fund for the re-lief of such member or members of such company, who shall or may receive any corporeal hurt or injury, or contract any disease at, or in consequence of, any fire, and be unable to provide medical aid, or whose family or families may be dependent upon his or their daily labor for support, and for the relief of the family or families of any member or members of such fire company, who shall or may be killed at, or die in consequence of, any injury received, or disease contracted at, or in con-sequence of, any fire, and whose family or families may have been dependent upon his or their daily labor for support; and the treasurer of the said company shall, after having paid ail the expenses which the said company shall have lawfully incurred, pay over to the said fund the residue of al] fines collected under the authority of this act.
Sec. 5. This act not to interfere with the right of the corporate authorities, &c. *And be it further enacted,* That nothing in this act shall be construed to interfere with the right of the corporate authorities of the several cities aforesaid “to provide for the prevention and extinguishment of fires;” and it is hereby declared to be the true intent and meaning of the several acts of incorporation of the several cities aforesaid, to give to the corporate authorities thereof full power and lawful authority to make all necessary provisions for the prevention and extinguishment of fires; for the preservation of order and protection of property at any fire; for the removal from any fire of suspicions persons, and those who are disobedient to the regulations of the said several corporations; for the punishment, by fine and imprisonment, of such person or persons as, being present at, refuse to assist, and obey the commands of the proper officer, in extinguishing any fire; for the removal of such property as may be necessary to he removed; to prevent and arrest the progress of any fires; and to aid, protect, and obtain obedience to the TWENTY-FOURTH CONGRESS.
Sess. II. Ch. 27, 23, 29, 47. 1837.689officers in command of the several fire companies, and to protect the members thereof while in the discharge of their duty at any fire. Approved, March 2, 1837. Chapter XXVII: for the relief of Catharine Myott. 6 Stat. 689 1837-03-02 Chapter XXVII Charles C. Little and James Brown text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. Digitization Vendor 2025-12-05 16 2 private
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Chapter XXVI
*to organize the several Fire Companies in the District of Columbia.* March 2, 1837. *Be it enacted, &c.*, That, from and after the passage of this act, the fire companies of Washington, Georgetown, and Alexandria, in the districtPowers, &c. of certain fire companies. of Columbia, and those which ma
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