2023 New York Laws › NPC - Not-For-Profit Corporation › Article 14 - Special Not-for-Profit Corporations › 1402 - Fire Corporations.

§ 1402. Fire corporations.
(a) Certificate of incorporation; additional contents.
In  addition  to  the  requirements  of  section  402  (Certificate of
incorporation; contents), the certificate of  incorporation  of  a  fire
corporation shall state the precise boundaries of the territory in which
the corporation intends to operate.
(b) Type of corporation.
A fire corporation is a charitable corporation under this chapter.
(c) Appointment of firefighters.
(1)  A  person shall not be eligible to be named in the certificate of
incorporation of a fire corporation unless he shall be at least eighteen
years of age and a resident of a city, village, fire district,  or  town
outside  of  villages  and  fire  districts,  where the fire corporation
intends to operate.
(2) If the fire corporation becomes part of the fire department  of  a
city,  village  or  fire  district, a person shall not be eligible to be
elected as a member or to continue as a member except as provided by law
for volunteer members of the fire companies in  such  city,  village  or
fire district.
(3)  In towns outside of villages and fire districts, the consent of a
majority of the members of the town board to the  formation  of  a  fire
corporation  shall constitute an appointment of the persons named in the
certificate of incorporation as  town  firefighters.  Thereafter,  other
eligible  persons  may  be elected as members pursuant to the by-laws of
the fire corporation, but the election of a member must be  approved  by
the town board of each town which consented to the formation of the fire
corporation.  Such  a  person  shall  be  a  resident  of  the territory
specified in the certificate of incorporation or  of  territory  outside
such   boundaries   which  is  afforded  fire  protection  by  the  fire
corporation pursuant to a contract for fire  protection  under  which  a
cash   consideration  is  received  by  the  corporation  or  for  which
negotiations for renewal of such a contract are pending. The  membership
of  any  volunteer  member shall terminate when he or she ceases to be a
resident  of  such  inside  or  outside  territory,  except   that   the
corporation  may  authorize  his or her continued membership where he or
she notifies the secretary of the fire corporation (a) that  he  or  she
plans to change his or her residence to a territory which is not in such
inside  or  outside  territory,  and  (b)  that  by reason of his or her
residence in the vicinity or his or her usual occupation he or she  will
be  available  to  render  active  service as a volunteer firefighter in
either  such  inside  or  such  outside  territory.  Voting   for   such
authorization shall be pursuant to the by-laws. Such authorization shall
not  become effective unless approved by resolution of the town board of
each town which consented to  the  formation  of  the  corporation.  Any
membership  so  continued  shall terminate when the member can no longer
meet the requirements of this subparagraph. A person who cannot meet the
residence requirements of this subparagraph may be elected to membership
as a volunteer member if by reason  of  his  or  her  residence  in  the
vicinity  or  his or her usual occupation he or she will be available to
render active service as a  volunteer  firefighter  in  such  inside  or
outside  territory.  Voting  for  such election shall be pursuant to the
by-laws. Such election shall not become  effective  unless  approved  by
resolution  of  the  town  board  of  each  town  which consented to the
formation of the corporation. Such membership shall terminate  when  the
member  can  no  longer  meet the requirements of this subparagraph. The
election or continuance of any person as a member  shall  be  deemed  to
have  been  approved  by the town board pursuant to this subparagraph in
the event that no action is taken by the town board, either approving or

disapproving, within  forty  days  in  the  case  of  residents  of  the
territory  specified  in  the certificate of incorporation or of outside
contract territory, and within seventy days in the case of  all  others,
after  service  of  written  notice  of  such election or continuance of
membership shall have been made by the secretary of the corporation upon
the town clerk, either personally or by  mail.  The  membership  of  any
volunteer   firefighter   shall   not  be  continued  pursuant  to  this
subparagraph, and persons who do not reside in the  territory  specified
in  the  certificate of incorporation or in territory protected pursuant
to a contract for fire protection shall not be  elected  to  membership,
if,  by so doing, the percentage of such nonresident members in the fire
corporation would exceed forty-five per centum of the actual  membership
thereof,  provided,  however,  that  the  forty-five  percent  limit  on
non-resident members shall not apply to the membership of  the  Huguenot
Fire  Company,  Inc., within the town of Deerpark, Orange county, to the
membership of the Prospect Terrace Fire Company, Inc., within  the  town
of  Dickinson,  Broome  county,  to membership of the Hopewell Volunteer
Fire Department, Inc., to membership of the Wales Center Volunteer  Fire
Company,  Inc., within the town of Wales, Erie county, to the membership
of the Nedrow Fire Department, within the  town  of  Onondaga,  Onondaga
county,  to  the  membership of the Howlett Hill Fire Department, within
the town  of  Onondaga,  Onondaga  county,  to  the  membership  of  the
Southwood  Volunteer Fire Department, Inc., within the town of Onondaga,
Onondaga county, to the membership of the East Syracuse Fire Department,
within the town of Dewitt, Onondaga county, to  the  membership  of  the
Camillus  Volunteer  Fire Department, Inc., within the town of Camillus,
Onondaga county, to the membership of the Pleasant Square Fire  Company,
Inc.  within  the town of Johnstown, Fulton county, to the membership of
the East Amherst Fire Department, Inc., within the town of Amherst, Erie
county, to the membership of the Crittenden Volunteer  Fire  Department,
Inc.,  within  the town of Alden, Erie county, to membership of the fire
departments within the town of Fleming, Cayuga county, to membership  of
the  Bushnell's  Basin  Fire Department, in the town of Perinton, Monroe
county, to the membership of the East Dunkirk  Volunteer  Fire  Company,
Inc.    within the town of Dunkirk, Chautauqua county, to the membership
of the Leeds Hose Company No. 1,  Inc.  within  the  town  of  Catskill,
Greene  county or to membership of the Salina Consolidated Fire District
#2, in  the  town  of  Salina,  Onondaga  county.  Nonresidents  of  the
territory  specified in the certificate of incorporation whose volunteer
membership  has  been  authorized  or   continued   pursuant   to   this
subparagraph  may  be  elected  or  appointed  to any office in the fire
corporation and shall have  all  the  powers,  duties,  immunities,  and
privileges  of  resident volunteer members except a non-resident of this
state whose membership has been continued pursuant to this subparagraph,
or who was elected to membership pursuant to  this  subparagraph,  shall
not  be  considered  to  be  performing  any firefighting duty, or to be
engaged in any firefighting activity, as a member of  the  fire  company
while  he or she is outside of this state unless and until he or she has
first reported to the officer or firefighter in command of  his  or  her
fire department, or any company, squad or other unit thereof, engaged or
to  be  engaged in rendering service outside this state, or has received
orders or authorization from an officer of the fire department  or  fire
company  to  participate  in  or attend authorized activities outside of
this state in the same manner as resident members of the fire company. A
person shall not be eligible to volunteer membership in any  other  fire
corporation  or  fire  company  at  one  time.  The  provisions  of this
subparagraph shall not be  deemed  to  authorize  the  election  or  the
continuance  of  any  person  as  a  member  of  the corporation if such

election or continuance of membership shall be contrary to the  by-laws,
rules or regulations of the fire corporation.
(4)  A  person who has been convicted of arson in any degree shall not
be eligible to be named in the certificate of incorporation  of  a  fire
corporation,  or  to  be elected or appointed as a volunteer member of a
fire corporation. The membership of  any  volunteer  member  of  a  fire
corporation  shall  immediately terminate if he is convicted of arson in
any degree while a member of a fire corporation.
(5)  Upon  application  by  any  person  for  membership  in  a   fire
corporation  operating  pursuant  to  this section, the fire chief shall
cause the applicant's background to be checked pursuant to section eight
hundred thirty-seven-o of the  executive  law  for  a  criminal  history
involving  a  conviction  for  arson  and  conviction  of  a crime which
requires the person to register as a sex offender under article six-C of
the correction law. Where such  criminal  history  information  includes
conviction  of  a  crime  which requires the person to register as a sex
offender under article six-C of the correction law, a fire company shall
determine whether or not such person shall be eligible to be elected  or
appointed as a volunteer member of such fire company. Such determination
shall  be  made  in accordance with the criteria established in sections
seven hundred fifty-two and seven hundred fifty-three of the  correction
law.
(d) Incorporation of fire corporations in towns legalized.
Any  fire,  hose, protective or hook and ladder corporation heretofore
organized under any general law with the consent of the  town  board  in
the  territory  served  by  such  corporation  is  hereby  legalized and
confirmed, notwithstanding the omission of any town board to appoint  or
confirm  the members of such corporations as town firefighters. Any such
corporation shall  hereafter  be  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this
section.
(e) Powers.
(1) A fire, hose, protective or hook and ladder corporation heretofore
incorporated  under  any  general  law  or  a fire corporation hereafter
incorporated under this section shall be under the control of the  city,
village,  fire district or town authorities having, by law, control over
the prevention or extinguishment of fires therein. Such authorities  may
adopt  rules  and  regulations  for  the  government and control of such
corporations. Notwithstanding the provisions of any such  local  law,  a
person  who  has  been  convicted  of  arson  in any degree shall not be
eligible for nomination, election or appointment to any  office  of  the
corporation,  nor  may such person serve as director of the corporation.
Any fire corporation officer or director who is convicted  of  arson  in
any  degree  during  his  term  of  office  shall  be  disqualified from
completing such term of office.
(2) Where a fire corporation formed outside of a city, village or fire
district  furnishes  fire  protection  to  territory  outside   of   the
boundaries  specified  in  its  certificate  of  incorporation, the fire
corporation and the members thereof shall be under the exclusive control
of the town board of the town in which the  fire  corporation  maintains
its apparatus.
(3)  The  emergency  relief  squad  of a fire corporation incorporated
under this section or subject to the provisions thereof shall have power
to furnish general ambulance service  when  duly  authorized  under  the
provisions of section two hundred nine-b of the general municipal law.
(4) Any fire company incorporated under this section or subject to the
provisions thereof shall have power to engage in fund raising activities
pursuant to section two hundred four-a of the general municipal law.
(5) Any fire company incorporated under this section or subject to the
provisions  thereof  shall  have  power,  subject  to  the  approval  or
authorization of the town board, to attend a funeral.
(6)  Fire, hose, protective or hook and ladder corporations heretofore
incorporated under  any  general  law  or  fire  corporations  hereafter
incorporated  under  this  section  or  volunteer fire companies or fire
departments as defined in section three of the  volunteer  firefighters'
benefits  law  are  hereby  authorized  to  enter  into  contracts among
themselves and among municipal corporations for the  joint  purchase  of
goods,  supplies  and  services. Provided that the provisions of article
five-A of the  general  municipal  law  shall  be  controlling  for  any
proposed  joint  purchase  between  such  fire  corporation, company, or
department and  a  municipal  corporation.  For  the  purposes  of  this
subparagraph the term "municipal corporation" shall mean a county, city,
town, village, fire district, or ambulance district.
(f) Directors to file report.
It shall be the duty of the directors of all fire, hose, protective or
hook  and  ladder  corporations incorporated under a general law or of a
fire corporation formed under  this  section  in  territory  outside  of
cities  or  villages,  or a majority of them, on or before the fifteenth
day of January in each year, to make and  file  in  the  county  clerk's
office,  where  the  certificate  of  incorporation  is filed a verified
certificate, stating the names of the  directors  and  officers  of  the
corporation, containing an inventory of its property, a statement of its
liabilities  and  that  the  corporation  has  not  engaged, directly or
indirectly, in any business other than that set forth in its certificate
of incorporation.
(g) Firefighters' exemption.
Every active firefighter who  shall  be  a  member  of  a  corporation
subject  to  the provisions of this section shall be entitled to all the
rights granted by law to volunteer firefighters and  every  such  active
firefighter  who  shall  meet the requirements of section two hundred of
the general municipal law shall be entitled  to  the  additional  rights
granted by law to exempt volunteer firefighters.
(h)  Legalization  of membership of fire corporations in towns outside
villages and fire districts.
(1) Any person:
(A) who was recognized prior  to  the  first  day  of  July,  nineteen
hundred  fifty-four, as a volunteer member of a fire corporation subject
to the provisions of this section located in a town outside villages and
fire districts by the town board or by the officers and members  of  the
fire corporation, and
(B)  who  rendered  active service with such fire corporation prior to
such date, and
(C) who was, at the time of his  or  her  election  to  membership,  a
resident  of the territory specified in the certificate of incorporation
or  of  territory  outside  such  boundaries  which  was  afforded  fire
protection  by  the  fire  corporation  pursuant  to a contract for fire
protection,
shall for all purposes in law be considered to have been duly  elected
and  confirmed  as  a  member in such fire corporation as of the date of
such confirmation, if any, and, if none, then as of  the  date  of  such
election;  notwithstanding that there may have been some legal defect in
such election, or the proceedings precedent thereto, or a failure of the
town board to confirm such member, as provided by the law  in  force  at
the  time of such election, and the status of such person as a volunteer
firefighter as of the date of such confirmation or  election  is  hereby
legalized, validated and confirmed. This subparagraph shall not apply to

a  person,  if any, whose volunteer membership in a fire corporation was
declared invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction prior to the first
day of January, nineteen hundred fifty-five.
(2) Any person:
(A)  who  was  recognized  on or after the first day of July, nineteen
hundred fifty-four and prior to the first day of January,  two  thousand
eleven  as  a  volunteer  member  of  a  fire corporation subject to the
provisions of this section located in a town outside villages  and  fire
districts  by  the town board or by the officers and members of the fire
corporation, and
(B) who rendered active service with  such  fire  corporation  between
such dates, and
(C)  who  was,  at  the  time  of his or her election to membership, a
resident of the territory specified in the certificate of  incorporation
or  of  territory  outside  such  boundaries  which  was  afforded  fire
protection by the fire corporation  pursuant  to  a  contract  for  fire
protection,  or  who  was a nonresident elected to membership or who was
continued as a member, pursuant to the provisions of subparagraph (A)
shall for all purposes in law be considered to have been duly  elected
and  confirmed, or continued, as a member in such fire corporation as of
the date of such confirmation, if any, and, if none, then as of the date
of such election or, in the case of a continuance, as  of  the  date  of
approval,  if  any,  by  the  town board and, if none, as of the date of
authorization of continuance by the  fire  corporation;  notwithstanding
that  there  may  have  been  some legal defect in such election, or the
proceedings thereto, or a failure of  the  town  board  to  confirm  the
election,  or  approve the continuance of membership, of such member, as
provided  by  the  law  in  force  at  the  time  of  such  election  or
continuance, and the status of such person as a volunteer firefighter as
of  such  date  is  hereby  legalized,  validated  and  confirmed.  This
subparagraph shall not apply  to  a  person,  if  any,  whose  volunteer
membership  in  a  fire  corporation  was declared invalid by a court of
competent jurisdiction prior to the first day of January,  two  thousand
eleven.
(i)  Discrimination  because  of race, color, creed or national origin
prohibited.
(1) It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for any  volunteer
fire department, fire company or fire corporation, through any member or
members  thereof, directors, officers, members of a town board, board of
fire commissioners or other body or office having power  of  appointment
of  volunteer  firefighters in any fire department, fire company or fire
corporation pursuant to this section, because of the race, creed, color,
national origin, sex or marital status of any individual, to exclude  or
to   expel   from  its  volunteer  membership  such  individual,  or  to
discriminate against any of its members  because  of  the  race,  creed,
color, national origin, sex or marital status of such volunteer members.
(2)  Any person claiming to be aggrieved by an unlawful discriminatory
practice pursuant to this paragraph may by himself or  his  attorney  at
law  make,  sign  and  file  with  the state division of human rights, a
verified complaint which shall set forth the particulars of the  alleged
unlawful  discriminatory  practice and contain such other information as
the division of human rights may require. The division  shall  thereupon
cause  to  be  made  an  investigation  and  disposition  of the charges
pursuant to the provisions of article fifteen of the executive law.