2023 New York Laws › TWN - Town › Article 11 - Fire, Fire Alarm and Fire Protection Districts › 176-B - Volunteer Members of Fire District Fire Companies.

§  176-b.  Volunteer  members  of fire district fire companies. 1. The
volunteer members of a fire company shall be elected  and  appointed  as
provided in this section.
2. The board of fire commissioners shall appoint residents of the fire
district  as  the volunteer members of any newly organized fire company.
Thereafter, the fire company may elect other eligible persons, including
fire district 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. Membership shall be deemed to have been approved
pursuant to this subdivision in the event that no action is taken by the
board of fire commissioners, either approving  or  disapproving,  within
forty  days  after  service  of written notice of election to membership
shall have been made by the secretary  of  the  fire  company  upon  the
secretary  of  the  board of fire commissioners, 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 fire district or of territory outside
the  fire  district  which  is  afforded  fire  protection  by  the fire
department of the fire district, 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 fire district or of any
territory outside the fire district which is afforded fire protection by
the  fire  department of the fire district, 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 fire district and is not protected by the
fire department of the district, 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 or his or her usual occupation he or she  will
be  available to render active service as a volunteer firefighter in the
fire district or  in  territory  outside  the  fire  district  which  is
afforded  fire  protection pursuant to a contract for fire protection by
the fire department of the fire district, 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. Such authorization shall be deemed to have been  approved
pursuant to this subdivision in the event that no action is taken by the
board  of  fire  commissioners, either approving or disapproving, within
forty days after service of written notice of such  authorization  shall
have  been  made by the secretary of the fire company upon the secretary
of the board of fire commissioners, either personally or  by  mail.  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 of
this section. In the case of  a  fire  district  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 or his or her usual occupation he or her  will
be  available to render active service as a volunteer firefighter in the
fire district or in territory which is afforded fire protection pursuant
to a contract for fire protection by the fire  department  of  the  fire
district,  or a fire company thereof. Such 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 not become effective unless approved by resolution of the board of
fire  commissioners.  Membership  shall  be deemed to have been approved
pursuant to this subdivision in the event that no action is taken by the
board of fire commissioners, either  approving  or  disapproving  within
seventy  days  after service of written notice of election to membership
shall have been made by the secretary  of  the  fire  company  upon  the
secretary  of  the  board of fire commissioners, either personally or by
mail. 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 of this section. In the case of a fire
district  which  adjoins  another state, the term "vicinity", as used in
this subdivision, includes territory in this state and territory in  the
adjoining state.
7.  (a)  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, provided however, that the provisions of
this  subdivision  shall  not  apply  to  the memberships of the Shelter
Island Heights fire district, the Cherry Grove fire district,  the  Fire
Island Pines fire district, the Davis Park fire department, and the Cold
Spring  Harbor  fire  district  in  Suffolk county, the New Hampton fire
district, the Mechanicstown fire district, the Pocatello fire  district,
the  Washington Heights fire district and the Good Will fire district in
Orange county, the Jericho fire district, the Westbury fire district and
the Roslyn Rescue Hook and Ladder Company, No. 1 in Nassau  county,  the
Orangeburg  fire  district  in  Rockland county, the South Lockport Fire
Company and the  Terry's  Corners  volunteer  fire  company  in  Niagara
County,  the Taunton fire district and the Onondaga Hill fire department
in Onondaga county, the Town  of  Batavia  fire  department  in  Genesee
County,  the  Schuyler  Heights  fire district, the Boght Community fire
district and the Slingerlands fire district I in Albany county, the town
of Providence fire district in Saratoga  county,  the  River  Road  fire
district, No. 3 and the Armor Volunteer Fire Company in Erie county, the
Sir William Johnson Fire Company in Fulton county, the Fort Johnson Fire
district  in  Montgomery  county or the memberships of the Millwood fire
district, the Purchase  Fire  District,  the  North  Castle  South  Fire
District, No. 1 in Westchester county, the Thornwood fire company, No. 1
in  Westchester  county  and the Rockland Lake fire district in Rockland
county.
(b) Upon application by a fire district or fire company to  the  state
fire   administrator,   the   requirements  of  paragraph  (a)  of  this
subdivision shall be waived, provided that  no  adjacent  fire  district
objects  within  sixty  days of notice, published in the state register.
Any  such  objection  shall  be  made  in  writing  to  the  state  fire

administrator  setting  forth  the  reasons  such  waiver  should not be
granted. In cases where an objection is properly filed, the  state  fire
administrator   shall   have  the  authority  to  grant  a  waiver  upon
consideration  of  (1) the difficulty of the fire company or district in
retaining and recruiting adequate personnel; (2) any  alternative  means
available  to the fire company or district to address such difficulties;
and (3) the impact of such waiver on adjacent fire districts.
8. The board of fire commissioners  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  fire  district.  Any  volunteer
member  who  then  resides  in territory outside the fire district 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 contract  for  fire  protection  to
such  territory  by  his  company  or  during the period in which he may
continue to meet the requirements of subdivision three, five or six.
9. Residents of outside territory which is  protected  pursuant  to  a
contract  for  fire  protection  who  have  been  elected  to  volunteer
membership, and non-residents  whose  volunteer  memberships  have  been
continued  or  authorized  pursuant  to  subdivision five or six of this
section may be elected or appointed to any office in the fire company or
fire department 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  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 fire
district or by the fire department or a fire  company  thereof  for  the
furnishing  of fire protection to an area outside the fire district. 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 fire district.
13. Any person:
(1) who was recognized prior  to  the  first  day  of  July,  nineteen
hundred  fifty-four,  as  a  volunteer member of any fire company of the
fire district by the board of fire commissioners of the fire district or
by the officers and members of his fire company, and
(2) who rendered active service with such fire company prior  to  such
date, and
(3)  who  was,  at  the  time  of his or her election to membership, a
resident of the fire district or of territory outside the fire  district

which  was  afforded  fire protection by the fire department of the fire
district, or any fire company thereof, pursuant to a contract  for  fire
protection,
shall  for  all  purposes in law be considered to have been duly elected
and appointed to membership in such fire company as of the date of  such
appointment, 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
board  of  fire commissioners to appoint 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  appointment  or
election   is   hereby   legalized,  validated,  and  confirmed.    This
subdivision shall not  apply  to  a  person,  if  any,  whose  volunteer
membership  in  a  fire  company  was  declared  invalid  by  a court of
competent jurisdiction prior to  the  first  day  of  January,  nineteen
hundred fifty-five.
14. Any person:
(1)  who  was  recognized on and 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 any fire company of the fire district
by the board of fire commissioners  of  the  fire  district  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 election to membership, a resident  of
the  fire  district  or of territory outside the fire district which was
afforded fire protection by the fire department of the fire district, or
any fire company thereof, pursuant to a contract  for  fire  protection,
or,  who  was  a  nonresident  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,  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  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.
15. (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.
16.  A  person who has been convicted of arson in any degree shall not
be eligible to be elected or appointed as a volunteer member of  a  fire
company.  The membership of any volunteer member of a fire company shall
immediately terminate if he is convicted of arson in any degree while  a
member of a fire company.
17.  Upon  application  by any person for membership in a fire company
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.