2023 New York Laws › GCT - General City › Article 2 - General Provisions › 16-A - Volunteer Members of Fire Companies.

§ 16-a. Volunteer  members  of  fire companies. 1. Except as otherwise
provided in a city charter or other  special  or  local  law,  volunteer
members  of a fire company shall be elected and appointed as provided in
this section.
2. The board of fire commissioners or other  body  or  officer  having
control  of  the  fire department shall appoint residents of the city as
the volunteer members of any newly organized fire  company.  Thereafter,
the  fire  company  may  elect  other  eligible  persons, including city
officers, as volunteer members. The election shall be  pursuant  to  the
by-laws, if any, of the fire company; otherwise, by a three-fourths vote
of  the  members  of the fire company present and voting at a regular or
special meeting thereof. The membership of any person so  elected  shall
become  effective  when  approved  by  resolution  of  the board of fire
commissioners or such other body or officer. Membership shall be  deemed
to  have been approved pursuant to this subdivision in the event that no
action is taken by such board, body  or  officer,  either  approving  or
disapproving,  within  thirty  days  after  service of written notice of
election to membership shall have been made by the secretary of the fire
company upon the chairman of such board or body, or upon  such  officer,
either personally or by mail.
3.  Any  person  elected to membership as a volunteer member of a fire
company shall be a resident of the city or of territory outside the city
which is afforded fire protection by the fire department of the city, or
any fire company thereof, pursuant to a contract  for  fire  protection,
except as otherwise provided in subdivision six.
4.  The  membership  of  a  volunteer  member  of a fire company shall
terminate when he ceases to  be  a  resident  of  the  city  or  of  any
territory outside the city which is afforded fire protection by the fire
department  of  the  city,  or  any  fire company thereof, pursuant to a
contract  for  fire  protection,  except  as   otherwise   provided   in
subdivision five.
5.  Any  fire  company  may  authorize the continued membership of any
volunteer member where such member notifies the secretary of his or  her
fire  company (a) that he or she plans to change his or her residence to
territory which is not in the city and is  not  protected  by  the  fire
department  of  the  city,  or  any  fire company thereof, pursuant to a
contract for fire protection, and (b) that  by  reason  of  his  or  her
residence in the vicinity and his or her usual occupation he or she will
be  available to render active service as a volunteer firefighter in the
city or in territory outside the city which is afforded fire  protection
pursuant to a contract for fire protection by the fire department of the
city, or a fire company thereof. Such authorization shall be pursuant to
the by-laws, if any, of the fire company of which he or she is a member,
otherwise  by  a  three-fourths vote of the members of such fire company
present and voting  at  a  regular  or  special  meeting  thereof.  Such
authorization  shall  not become effective unless approved by resolution
of the board of fire commissioners or other body or officer  hereinabove
mentioned.  Any  membership continued pursuant to the provisions of this
subdivision shall terminate when  the  member  cannot  meet  either  the
requirements  of  this  subdivision  or  the  residence  requirements of
subdivision three. In the case of a city which  adjoins  another  state,
the  term "vicinity", as used in this subdivision, includes territory in
this state and territory in the adjoining state.
6. A person who cannot meet the residence requirements of  subdivision
three of this section may be elected to membership as a volunteer member
of  any  fire  company of the fire department if by reason of his or her
residence in the vicinity and his or her usual occupation he or she will
be available to render active service as a volunteer firefighter in  the

city  or  in  territory  which is afforded fire protection pursuant to a
contract for fire protection by the fire department of  the  city  or  a
fire  company  thereof.  Such  authorization  shall  be  pursuant to the
by-laws,  if any, of the fire company; otherwise by a three-fourths vote
of the members of the fire company present and voting at  a  regular  or
special  meeting  thereof. Such authorization shall not become effective
unless approved by resolution of the  board  of  fire  commissioners  or
other  body  or  officer  hereinabove  mentioned.  The membership of any
volunteer member elected pursuant to the provisions of this  subdivision
shall  terminate  when the member cannot meet either the requirements of
this subdivision or the residence requirements of subdivision three.  In
the  case of a city which adjoins another state, the term "vicinity", as
used in this subdivision, includes territory in this state and territory
in the adjoining state.
7. The membership of any volunteer firefighter shall not be  continued
pursuant  to  subdivision five of this section, and persons shall not be
elected to membership pursuant to subdivision six of this  section,  if,
by  so  doing,  the  percentage of such non-resident members in the fire
company would exceed forty-five per centum of the actual  membership  of
the fire company.
8.   The   legislative  body  of  the  city,  or  the  board  of  fire
commissioners or other body or officer hereinabove mentioned subject  to
approval  of  such  legislative  body,  by  resolution  may restrict the
membership of volunteer members in any or all of the fire  companies  of
the  fire  department to residents of the city. Any volunteer member who
then resides in territory outside the city shall cease to be a member of
any fire company to which  the  restriction  is  applicable  unless  the
resolution  provides  that  his  membership  shall  continue  during the
existence of any lawful contract for fire protection to  such  territory
by  his  company or the fire department or during the period in which he
may continue to meet the requirements of subdivision three, five or six.
9. Residents of outside territory protected pursuant to a contract for
fire protection who have  been  elected  to  volunteer  membership,  and
non-residents  whose  volunteer  memberships  have  been  authorized  or
continued pursuant to subdivision  five  or  six,  shall  have  all  the
powers,   duties,  immunities,  and  privileges  of  resident  volunteer
members, except (1) they may not be elected or appointed to  any  office
of the fire department which is required by law to be held by an elector
of  the  city,  (2)  non-residents  of the state may not be appointed or
elected to any office in the fire company or fire department, and (3)  a
non-resident  of this state whose membership has been continued pursuant
to subdivision five of this section, or a non-resident of this state who
was elected to membership pursuant to subdivision six of  this  section,
shall  not  be  considered to be performing any firemanic duty, or to be
engaged in any firemanic 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.
10. A person shall not be eligible to  volunteer  membership  in  more
than one fire company at one time.
11.  The  term  "contract for fire protection" as used in this section
means one under which a cash consideration is received by the city or by
the fire department or a fire company thereof for the furnishing of fire
protection to an area outside the  city.  Any  such  contract  shall  be

deemed  in  full  force  and  effect for the purposes of this section if
negotiations are pending for the renewal thereof.
12.  The  provisions  of this section shall not be deemed to authorize
the election of any person  as  a  member  of  a  fire  company  or  the
continuance  of  membership in a fire company as herein provided if such
election or continuance of membership shall be contrary to the  by-laws,
rules  or  regulations  of the fire company or of the fire department of
the city
13. Any person:
(1) who was recognized prior to the first day of January, two thousand
eleven, as a volunteer member of any fire company of a city  subject  to
the  provisions  of this section by the governing board or board of fire
commissioners of the city or by the officers and  members  of  his  fire
company, and
(2)  who  rendered  active service with such fire company between such
dates, and
(3) who was, at the time of his  or  her  election  to  membership,  a
resident of the city or of territory outside the city which was afforded
fire  protection by the fire department of the city, or any fire company
thereof, pursuant to a contract  for  fire  protection,  or  who  was  a
non-resident  who  was  elected  to membership or who was continued as a
member, pursuant to the provisions of subdivision five or  six  of  this
section,  shall  for all purposes in law be considered to have been duly
elected and approved, or continued, as a member in such fire company  as
of  the date of such approval, 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 the
approval, if any, by the board of fire commissioners  or  the  governing
board,  and,  if none, as of the date of authorization of continuance by
the fire company; notwithstanding that there may have  been  some  legal
defect  in  such  election,  or  the proceedings precedent thereto, or a
failure of the board of fire commissioners or governing board to approve
such member, 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
subdivision shall not  apply  to  a  person,  if  any,  whose  volunteer
membership  in  a  fire  company  was  disapproved  by the board of fire
commissioners or declared invalid by a court of  competent  jurisdiction
prior to the first day of January, two thousand eleven.
14.  (a)  It  shall  be  an  unlawful  discriminatory practice for any
volunteer fire department or fire company, through any member or members
thereof, officers, board of fire commissioners or other body  or  office
having  power  of  appointment  of  volunteer  firefighters  in any fire
department or fire company 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.
(b) Any person claiming to be aggrieved by an unlawful  discriminatory
practice  pursuant to this section 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.