2023 New York Laws › GMU - General Municipal › Article 10 - Firefighters and Police Officers › 204-B - Youth Programs.

§  204-b.  Youth  programs.  1.  Volunteer  fire  departments and fire
  companies may establish, operate and maintain youth programs to  provide
  participants  with  the opportunity to become familiar with the programs
  and operations of fire departments, to  provide  programs  in  community
  fire  safety, fire prevention, and public fire prevention education, and
  to curtail false fire alarms by developing community  wide  respect  for
  the fire service.
2. Volunteer fire departments and fire companies shall establish rules
  and   regulations  governing  youth  programs  established  pursuant  to
  subdivision one hereof, which shall include the minimum and maximum  age
  for   participation,   the   procedure  for  participation,  removal  or
  expulsion, residence, and provision for  adequate  supervision  of  such
  programs.
3.  It  shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for any volunteer
  fire  department  or  fire  company,  any  member  or  members  thereof,
  officers,  board  of  fire  commissioners or other body or office having
  authority to determine eligibility for participation  in  such  programs
  pursuant to this section, to exclude or expel from participation in such
  programs  any  individual because of race, creed, color, sex or national
  origin, or to discriminate against  any  participant  because  of  race,
  creed, color or national origin.
4.  No  person  shall  participate in such program without the written
  consent of his or her parent or guardian. Such  consent  shall  continue
  until  withdrawn.  If  withdrawn,  participation  in  such program shall
  automatically terminate.
5. All activities of participants in such program shall be approved in
  advance by the  chief,  or  his  designee.  No  activities  may  include
  emergency  duties  in  connection  with  fire department or fire company
  operations or any other hazardous activity.
6. Participants in such programs shall not be eligible for any benefit
  provided by the volunteer firefighters' benefit law.
7. Volunteer fire departments and fire companies may purchase accident
  insurance to insure participants in  such  programs  against  injury  or
  death  resulting  from  bodily  injuries  sustained  in  performance  of
  approved activities. In addition, they may purchase insurance to protect
  against  liability  arising  from  approved  activities.  The  insurance
  purchased  pursuant to this subdivision may include medical and hospital
  coverage.
8. No youth program shall be established pursuant to  subdivision  one
  of  this  section  unless  authorized  as  follows:  in a city the youth
  program must be authorized by the board of fire commissioners  or  other
  body  or  officer  having  control  of fire department; in a village the
  program must be approved by the board of fire commissioners or, if there
  is no board of fire commissioners, the village board of trustees;  in  a
  fire  district  the  program  must  be  authorized  by the board of fire
  commissioners; in a town outside  a  village  or  a  fire  district  the
  program must be authorized by the town board.