There is created, in and for the county of Madera, the Madera County fire department. The department shall be directed by the county fire chief who shall be appointed by the board of supervisors, shall be a department head, and shall serve at the pleasure of the board of supervisors. (Ord. 515A § 1, 2006: Ord. 515 § 1(part), 1988).

For the purposes of this code, the following phrases are defined:
“Local responsibility area,” “local responsibility fire prevention area,” and “LRA” are synonyms and shall refer to the entire area of Madera County located south and west of the Madera Canal.
“State responsibility area,” “state responsibility fire prevention area,” and “SRA” are synonyms and shall refer to the entire area of Madera County located north and east of the Madera Canal. (Ord. 515A § 2, 2006).

There is created, in and for the county of Madera, through the resource management agency, the Madera County department of fire prevention for development. This department shall be directed by the county fire marshal, who shall be appointed by the board of supervisors, shall be a department head who reports to the director of the resource management agency, and shall serve at the pleasure of the board of supervisors. The county fire marshal shall be the county fire warden for the county of Madera, and shall have all of the powers and duties of a county fire warden, as provided by Section 24008 of the Government Code, except as provided herein. (Ord. 515A § 3, 2006).

The county fire chief shall be responsible to the board of supervisors for:
A. Implementing board policy established by the board for the administration of the fire department;
B. Preparing and presenting to the board an annual budget for the operation of the fire department;
C. All fire suppression tasks to be performed by the fire department within the unincorporated area of Madera County; and
D. Weed abatement, as provided in Chapter 7.26 of this code. (Ord. 515A § 4, 2006: Ord. 515 § 1(part) 1988).

The county fire marshal shall be responsible to the board of supervisors for:
A. Implementing board policy established by the board for the administration of the department of fire prevention for development;
B. Preparing and presenting to the board an annual budget for the operation of the department of fire prevention for development;
C. All duties of building design review, fire suppression system review, development review, and building inspection; and
D. Exclusive enforcement in both the LRA and SRA of all local laws, ordinances, and regulations pertaining to development. (Ord. 515A § 5, 2006).

The fire chief shall be in charge of all field operations as defined by policy adopted by the board of supervisors. (Ord. 515 § 1(part), 1988).

A county is not obligated to provide a county fire department, county fire warden or fire chief or any fire fighting personnel and/or equipment. Madera County will provide personnel and equipment to the department based upon the financial ability of the county to so provide as determined by the members of the board of supervisors who are charged with the budgeting process in the county. (Ord. 515 § 1(part), 1988).