2023 New York Laws › GMU - General Municipal › Article 10 - Firefighters and Police Officers › 209-BB - Specialized Teams; Volunteer Wilderness/inland Search and Rescue Teams.

§  209-bb.  Specialized  teams; volunteer wilderness/inland search and
  rescue teams. 1. a. By resolution, after a public hearing the  governing
  body  of  each  county,  city  and  town is authorized, respectively, to
  establish, maintain and  supervise  municipal-wide  and  inter-municipal
  specialized teams.
b. Counties, cities and towns are authorized to appropriate and expend
  such  sums as are deemed necessary to establish and maintain specialized
  teams pursuant to this section.
c.   Municipalities   and   organizations   that   insure    volunteer
  firefighters, volunteer ambulance workers or municipal employees, as the
  term "employee" is defined under section eighteen of the public officers
  law, may extend such insurance coverage to members of a specialized team
  by resolution.
d.  For  the  purposes of this section, "specialized teams" shall mean
  any  emergency  team  or  squad  composed  of  volunteer   firefighters,
  volunteer  ambulance  workers  or  municipal  employees,  who shall have
  attained the minimum level of training or experience to meet  qualifying
  standards  established by the office of fire prevention and control, and
  which is administered by the state, a  county,  city  or  town  for  the
  purposes of training for or responding to a man made or natural disaster
  by  carrying  out  any activities which are within the relevant training
  and expertise of such municipal employees or are authorized pursuant  to
  the  volunteer  firefighters'  benefit  law  or  the volunteer ambulance
  workers' benefit law  but  which  are  not  normally  provided  by  such
  entities.
2.  a.  The  governing  body of each county, city, town and village is
  authorized, respectively, to contract for the assistance of a  volunteer
  wilderness/inland search and rescue team for the purpose of locating and
  rescuing an individual or individuals.
b.  No municipality shall be liable for the injury, death or damage to
  a volunteer wilderness/inland search and  rescue  team  or  its  members
  occurring  during  the  performance of the activities authorized by this
  section. Such team and its members shall indemnify and hold harmless the
  municipality  that  contracted  for  assistance  with   such   volunteer
  wilderness/inland  search  and  rescue  team  pursuant  to  this section
  against any claim of liability for any injury, death or property  damage
  that  may  occur  as  a  result  of an act of such team and its members,
  including, but not limited to,  any  indemnity  paid,  attorneys'  fees,
  costs  and litigation expenses. The provisions of this subdivision shall
  not apply when the municipality has engaged in willful misconduct, gross
  negligence or recklessness.
c. For purposes of this section, "volunteer  wilderness/inland  search
  and  rescue  team"  or  "team" shall mean an organization: whose members
  have obtained a minimum level  of  training  or  experience  as  may  be
  established  by the department of environmental conservation's office of
  public protection; that is  formed  for  the  purpose  of  locating  and
  rescuing,  or recovering, a known individual or known individuals, in an
  unknown location, whose safety may be threatened by  conditions  related
  to the environment or other factors; that is incorporated under the laws
  of  New  York  state;  and  that  operates  not  for pecuniary profit or
  financial gain.
d. For the purposes  of  this  section,  "volunteer  wilderness/inland
  search  and rescue team member" shall mean an active volunteer member of
  a volunteer search and rescue  team  who  meets  the  minimum  level  of
  training  or  experience pursuant to paragraph c of this subdivision and
  is  specified  on  a  list  regularly  maintained   by   the   volunteer
  wilderness/inland search and rescue team. Such list shall be provided to
  a  requesting municipality. In addition, for purposes of this section, a

  volunteer wilderness/inland search and rescue team member  shall  be  an
  independent  contractor  and  shall  not  be  considered  an  officer or
  employee of the contracting municipality.
3.  Whenever a law enforcement agency or other state agency is engaged
  in a search or rescue operation, any volunteer wilderness/inland  search
  and  rescue  team  involved  in  such  operation shall be subject to the
  command and control  of  the  law  enforcement  or  other  state  agency
  conducting such operation.