NY Vol Fire Ben L § 3 (2021)
2021 New York Laws VOL - Volunteer Firefighters' Benefit Article 1 - Short Title; Purpose; Definitions; Miscellaneous 3 - Definitions.

§ 3. Definitions. As used in this chapter:1.  "Volunteer firefighter" means an active volunteer member of a fire   company.2. "Fire company" means:a. A fire company of a county, city, town, village  or  fire  district   fire  department,  whether or not any such company has been incorporated   under any general or special law,b. A fire corporation incorporated under or subject to the  provisions   of article ten of the membership corporations law, which is not included   within  paragraph  a  above,  if  such  corporation  is by law under the   general control  of,  or  recognized  as  a  fire  corporation  by,  the   governing board of a city, town, village or fire district, orc.  A  fire corporation incorporated under, or established pursuant to   the provision of, any general or special  law,  which  is  not  included   within paragraphs a and b above, if such corporation is by law under the   general  control  of,  or  recognized  as  a  fire  corporation  by, the   governing board of a city, town, village  or  fire  district  or  Indian   reservation.  Any  district  corporation which has the general powers of   and operates as a fire district shall be considered as a  fire  district   for the purposes of this chapter. A "fire department" may be composed of   one or more fire companies.3.  "Line of duty" means the performance by a volunteer firefighter as   a volunteer firefighter  of  the  duties  and  activities  described  in   subdivision one of section five of this chapter and the same such duties   and  activities performed for a specialized team established pursuant to   the provisions of section two hundred nine-bb of the  general  municipal   law   for   which   the  volunteer  firefighter  does  not  receive  any   remuneration or a gratuity and shall be deemed to include  any  date  of   injury  as determined by the workers' compensation board pursuant to the   provisions of section forty-one of this chapter. The following shall not   be deemed to be remuneration or a gratuity:  reimbursement  of  expenses   for  meals,  lodging  and  actual and necessary travel; the receipt of a   mileage allowance in lieu of travel expense; reimbursement  of  expenses   for registration and tuition fees payable under section seventy-two-g of   the  general  municipal law, and the acceptance of transportation, food,   drink, shelter, clothing and similar items while on duty or  engaged  in   such activities.4.  "Injury"  includes any disablement of a volunteer firefighter that   results from services performed in line of  duty  and  such  disease  or   infection as may naturally and unavoidably result from an injury.5.  "Child" includes a posthumous child, a child legally adopted prior   to the  injury  of  the  volunteer  firefighter;  and  a  step-child  or   acknowledged  child  born  out  of  wedlock  dependent upon the deceased   volunteer firefighter.6. "Surviving spouse" means the legal spouse of a  deceased  volunteer   firefighter,  but  shall  not  include  a  spouse  who has abandoned the   deceased. The term "abandoned", as used in this subdivision, means  such   an  abandonment  as would be sufficient under section two hundred of the   domestic relations law to sustain  a  judgment  of  separation  on  that   ground.7.  "Dependent"  includes  a  surviving  spouse  entitled  to  receive   benefits under this chapter, whether or not actually  dependent  upon  a   volunteer firefighter, unless a contrary meaning is clearly intended.8. "Earning capacity", except as herein provided, means:a.  The ability of a volunteer firefighter to perform on a five-day or   six-day basis either the work usually and ordinarily performed by him or   her in his or her remunerated employment or other  work  which  for  any   such  worker  would  be  a  reasonable  substitute  for  the remunerated    employment in which he or she was employed at the time  of  his  or  her   injury, orb.  The ability of a volunteer firefighter to perform on a five-day or   six-day basis either the work usually and ordinarily performed by him or   her in the practice of his or her profession or in the conduct of his or   her trade or business, including farming, and from which he or she could   derive earned income or other work which for any such person would be  a   reasonable  substitute for the profession, trade or business in which he   or she was engaged at the time of his or her injury.Every volunteer  firefighter  shall  be  considered  to  have  earning   capacity  and,  if  the  provisions  of paragraphs a and b above are not   applicable in any given case, the workers' compensation  board,  in  the   interest  of justice, shall determine the reasonable earning capacity of   the volunteer firefighter with due regard  to  the  provisions  of  such   paragraphs and the work he or she reasonably could be expected to obtain   and  for  which  he  or she is qualified by age, education, training and   experience. The ability of a volunteer firefighter to perform the duties   of a volunteer  firefighter,  or  to  engage  in  activities  incidental   thereto,  may be considered in determining loss of earning capacity, but   the inability of a volunteer firefighter to perform such  duties  or  to   engage  in  such  activities shall not be a basis of determining loss of   earning capacity.9. "State" includes all territory within the boundaries of  the  state   of  New  York,  including  territory  which has been or may hereafter be   ceded to the federal government or to the United Nations  and  territory   within the boundaries of Indian reservations.10.  "Political  subdivision"  means  a county, city, town, village or   fire district.11. "State fund" means  the  state  insurance  fund  provided  for  in   article six of the workmen's compensation law.12.   "County   plan   of  self-insurance"  means  a  county  plan  of   self-insurance under article five of the workmen's compensation law.13. "Insurance carrier" means the state fund, the stock  corporations,   mutual corporations or reciprocal insurers described in subdivision nine   of section thirty of this chapter, a county plan of self-insurance, or a   self-insuring  political  subdivision.  For  purposes of this chapter, a   nonprofit property/casualty insurance company which is licensed pursuant   to subsection (b) of section six thousand  seven  hundred  four  of  the   insurance  law  shall  be  deemed  a  stock  corporation and a nonprofit   property/casualty insurance company which is licensed  as  a  reciprocal   insurer pursuant to subsection (c) of section six thousand seven hundred   four of the insurance law shall be deemed a reciprocal insurer.14.  "Emergency"  includes  the search for persons and the search for,   and attempts to recover or the  recovery  of,  bodies  of  persons  even   though it is possible or is known that all hope of life is gone.15.  "Fund  raising  activity"  means  a  method  of  raising funds to   effectuate the lawful purposes of a fire company, but shall not  include   any method prohibited by the state constitution or the penal statutes of   this  state,  public  fireworks  displays unless conducted in compliance   with section 405.00 of the penal law. Such term "fund raising  activity"   shall  not  include  drills,  parades, inspections, reviews, competitive   tournaments, contests or public exhibitions, described in  paragraphs  e   and  i  of  subdivision one of section five of this chapter, even though   prizes are awarded at such  events.  Such  fund  raising  activity  must   comply  with  all  the requirements of section two hundred four-a of the   general municipal law.16. "Minor" or "infant" means a person who has not attained the age of   eighteen years. 17. The "workers' compensation rating board" or the "New York workers'   compensation rating board" shall have the meaning set forth  in  section   two of the workers' compensation law.