Any city or town council of a city or town of not less than one hundred inhabitants may equip and control a fire department for the protection of such city or town in such way as it deems necessary and by ordinance establish fire limits in such city or town and prescribe and designate the kind and character of material to be used in erecting and repairing buildings or structures within and upon that portion of such city or town included within such fire limits. All buildings or structures erected within such fire limits contrary to the ordinance of such city or town may be abated and removed by such council as a public nuisance.