The City of Lawrence’s Board of Public Works voted Feb. 22 to approve general orders for the Lawrence Fire Department, which were updated and signed in January by new LFD Chief Bob Wallace.
General orders include rules and regulations for the fire department. Wallace told the board that the general orders are nearly identical to the previous year’s, but they had to be updated with his signature.
“Then, as we redo these general orders down the road — I don’t see anything specifically that needs to be redone, but we review them all the time — I would present those to you as well,” he said, noting that one small change was implemented in the orders before the board for approval, but it was only to correct an error.
Wallace was appointed chief in January after longtime LFD Chief Dino Batalis retired.
The process to change the general orders involves more than just the chief’s input. Wallace said the department has a general order committee, with several committees for specific topics.
“If the general order affects that specific committee, usually we’ll send that general order to the committee, (then) to our union and to our administration,” he said. “We collaborate on it, review it and then, at that point, we would get it to you for the final approval.”
The Feb. 22 meeting lasted about five minutes, which Board Chair Jim Perron said was a new record for the Board of Public Works.
The next board meeting is set for 5 p.m. March 14 at Lawrence Government Center, 9001 E. 59th St.
