§ 16-A — Volunteer members of fire companies

§ 16-a. Volunteer members of fire companies. 1. Except as otherwise\nprovided in a city charter or other special or local law, volunteer\nmembers of a fire company shall be elected and appointed as provided in\nthis section.\n 2. The board of fire commissioners or other body or officer having\ncontrol of the fire department shall appoint residents of the city as\nthe volunteer members of any newly organized fire company. Thereafter,\nthe fire company may elect other eligible persons, including city\nofficers, as volunteer members. The election shall be pursuant to the\nby-laws, if any, of the fire company; otherwise, by a three-fourths vote\nof the members of the fire company present and voting at a regular or\nspecial meeting thereof. The membership of any person so elected shall\nbecome effective when approved by resolution of the board of fire\ncommissioners or such other body or officer. Membership shall be deemed\nto have been approved pursuant to this subdivision in the event that no\naction is taken by such board, body or officer, either approving or\ndisapproving, within thirty days after service of written notice of\nelection to membership shall have been made by the secretary of the fire\ncompany upon the chairman of such board or body, or upon such officer,\neither personally or by mail.\n 3. Any person elected to membership as a volunteer member of a fire\ncompany shall be a resident of the city or of territory outside the city\nwhich is afforded fire protection by the fire department of the city, or\nany fire company thereof, pursuant to a contract for fire protection,\nexcept as otherwise provided in subdivision six.\n 4. The membership of a volunteer member of a fire company shall\nterminate when he ceases to be a resident of the city or of any\nterritory outside the city which is afforded fire protection by the fire\ndepartment of the city, or any fire company thereof, pursuant to a\ncontract for fire protection, except as otherwise provided in\nsubdivision five.\n 5. Any fire company may authorize the continued membership of any\nvolunteer member where such member notifies the secretary of his or her\nfire company (a) that he or she plans to change his or her residence to\nterritory which is not in the city and is not protected by the fire\ndepartment of the city, or any fire company thereof, pursuant to a\ncontract for fire protection, and (b) that by reason of his or her\nresidence in the vicinity and his or her usual occupation he or she will\nbe available to render active service as a volunteer firefighter in the\ncity or in territory outside the city which is afforded fire protection\npursuant to a contract for fire protection by the fire department of the\ncity, or a fire company thereof. Such authorization shall be pursuant to\nthe by-laws, if any, of the fire company of which he or she is a member,\notherwise by a three-fourths vote of the members of such fire company\npresent and voting at a regular or special meeting thereof. Such\nauthorization shall not become effective unless approved by resolution\nof the board of fire commissioners or other body or officer hereinabove\nmentioned. Any membership continued pursuant to the provisions of this\nsubdivision shall terminate when the member cannot meet either the\nrequirements of this subdivision or the residence requirements of\nsubdivision three. In the case of a city which adjoins another state,\nthe term "vicinity", as used in this subdivision, includes territory in\nthis state and territory in the adjoining state.\n 6. A person who cannot meet the residence requirements of subdivision\nthree of this section may be elected to membership as a volunteer member\nof any fire company of the fire department if by reason of his or her\nresidence in the vicinity and his or her usual occupation he or she will\nbe available to render active service as a volunteer firefighter in the\ncity or in territory which is afforded fire protection pursuant to a\ncontract for fire protection by the fire department of the city or a\nfire company thereof. Such authorization shall be pursuant to the\nby-laws, if any, of the fire company; otherwise by a three-fourths vote\nof the members of the fire company present and voting at a regular or\nspecial meeting thereof. Such authorization shall not become effective\nunless approved by resolution of the board of fire commissioners or\nother body or officer hereinabove mentioned. The membership of any\nvolunteer member elected pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision\nshall terminate when the member cannot meet either the requirements of\nthis subdivision or the residence requirements of subdivision three. In\nthe case of a city which adjoins another state, the term "vicinity", as\nused in this subdivision, includes territory in this state and territory\nin the adjoining state.\n 7. The membership of any volunteer firefighter shall not be continued\npursuant to subdivision five of this section, and persons shall not be\nelected to membership pursuant to subdivision six of this section, if,\nby so doing, the percentage of such non-resident members in the fire\ncompany would exceed forty-five per centum of the actual membership of\nthe fire company.\n 8. The legislative body of the city, or the board of fire\ncommissioners or other body or officer hereinabove mentioned subject to\napproval of such legislative body, by resolution may restrict the\nmembership of volunteer members in any or all of the fire companies of\nthe fire department to residents of the city. Any volunteer member who\nthen resides in territory outside the city shall cease to be a member of\nany fire company to which the restriction is applicable unless the\nresolution provides that his membership shall continue during the\nexistence of any lawful contract for fire protection to such territory\nby his company or the fire department or during the period in which he\nmay continue to meet the requirements of subdivision three, five or six.\n 9. Residents of outside territory protected pursuant to a contract for\nfire protection who have been elected to volunteer membership, and\nnon-residents whose volunteer memberships have been authorized or\ncontinued pursuant to subdivision five or six, shall have all the\npowers, duties, immunities, and privileges of resident volunteer\nmembers, except (1) they may not be elected or appointed to any office\nof the fire department which is required by law to be held by an elector\nof the city, (2) non-residents of the state may not be appointed or\nelected to any office in the fire company or fire department, and (3) a\nnon-resident of this state whose membership has been continued pursuant\nto subdivision five of this section, or a non-resident of this state who\nwas elected to membership pursuant to subdivision six of this section,\nshall not be considered to be performing any firemanic duty, or to be\nengaged in any firemanic activity, as a member of the fire company while\nhe or she is outside of this state unless and until he or she has first\nreported to the officer or firefighter in command of his or her fire\ndepartment, or any company, squad or other unit thereof, engaged or to\nbe engaged in rendering service outside this state, or has received\norders or authorization from an officer of the fire department or fire\ncompany to participate in or attend authorized activities outside of\nthis state in the same manner as resident members of the fire company.\n 10. A person shall not be eligible to volunteer membership in more\nthan one fire company at one time.\n 11. The term "contract for fire protection" as used in this section\nmeans one under which a cash consideration is received by the city or by\nthe fire department or a fire company thereof for the furnishing of fire\nprotection to an area outside the city. Any such contract shall be\ndeemed in full force and effect for the purposes of this section if\nnegotiations are pending for the renewal thereof.\n 12. The provisions of this section shall not be deemed to authorize\nthe election of any person as a member of a fire company or the\ncontinuance of membership in a fire company as herein provided if such\nelection or continuance of membership shall be contrary to the by-laws,\nrules or regulations of the fire company or of the fire department of\nthe city\n 13. Any person:\n (1) who was recognized prior to the first day of January, two thousand\neleven, as a volunteer member of any fire company of a city subject to\nthe provisions of this section by the governing board or board of fire\ncommissioners of the city or by the officers and members of his fire\ncompany, and\n (2) who rendered active service with such fire company between such\ndates, and\n (3) who was, at the time of his or her election to membership, a\nresident of the city or of territory outside the city which was afforded\nfire protection by the fire department of the city, or any fire company\nthereof, pursuant to a contract for fire protection, or who was a\nnon-resident who was elected to membership or who was continued as a\nmember, pursuant to the provisions of subdivision five or six of this\nsection, shall for all purposes in law be considered to have been duly\nelected and approved, or continued, as a member in such fire company as\nof the date of such approval, if any, and, if none, then as of the date\nof such election or, in the case of a continuance, as of the date of the\napproval, if any, by the board of fire commissioners or the governing\nboard, and, if none, as of the date of authorization of continuance by\nthe fire company; notwithstanding that there may have been some legal\ndefect in such election, or the proceedings precedent thereto, or a\nfailure of the board of fire commissioners or governing board to approve\nsuch member, or approve the continuance of membership of such member, as\nprovided by the law in force at the time of such election, or\ncontinuance, and the status of such person as a volunteer firefighter as\nof such date is hereby legalized, validated and confirmed. This\nsubdivision shall not apply to a person, if any, whose volunteer\nmembership in a fire company was disapproved by the board of fire\ncommissioners or declared invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction\nprior to the first day of January, two thousand eleven.\n 14. (a) It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for any\nvolunteer fire department or fire company, through any member or members\nthereof, officers, board of fire commissioners or other body or office\nhaving power of appointment of volunteer firefighters in any fire\ndepartment or fire company pursuant to this section, because of the\nrace, creed, color, national origin, sex or marital status of any\nindividual, to exclude or to expel from its volunteer membership such\nindividual, or to discriminate against any of its members because of the\nrace, creed, color, national origin, sex or marital status of such\nvolunteer members.\n (b) Any person claiming to be aggrieved by an unlawful discriminatory\npractice pursuant to this section may by himself or his attorney at law\nmake, sign and file with the state division of human rights, a verified\ncomplaint which shall set forth the particulars of the alleged unlawful\ndiscriminatory practice and contain such other information as the\ndivision of human rights may require. The division shall thereupon cause\nto be made an investigation and disposition of the charges pursuant to\nthe provisions of article fifteen of the executive law.\n