§ 209-G — Liability for outside aid

§ 209-g. Liability for outside aid. 1. Notwithstanding any\ninconsistent provision of law, general, special or local, any county,\ncity, town, village or fire district requesting fire aid pursuant to\nsection two hundred nine-e of this article or any county, city, town or\nvillage requesting police aid pursuant to section two hundred nine-f of\nthis article, shall be liable and responsible to the assisting municipal\ncorporation or fire district for any loss of or damage to apparatus or\nequipment or supplies and shall bear and pay the expense incurred in the\noperation and maintenance of any apparatus or equipment and the cost of\nmaterials and supplies used or consumed in rendering such aid and\nassistance, but such liability and responsibility shall not apply or\nextend to apparatus, equipment, materials and supplies owned or supplied\nby the state.\n 2. The state or assisting municipal corporation or fire district in\nsuch case shall be liable for salaries or other compensation to the\nassisting forces furnished during the time they shall not be performing\ntheir duties for the state or for the assisting municipal corporation or\nfire district and shall defray the actual traveling and maintenance\nexpense of such assisting forces while they are rendering such aid and\nassistance, but the receiving municipal corporation or fire district\nshall reimburse the assisting municipal corporation or fire district for\nany moneys paid for such salaries or other compensation and traveling\nand maintenance expense. Any such claim for loss, damage, expense or\ncost shall not be allowed unless within sixty days after the same shall\nhave been sustained or incurred a written notice of such claim, under\noath, itemizing such loss, damage, expense or cost, is served by mail or\notherwise upon the comptroller or chief fiscal officer of such receiving\nmunicipal corporation or fire district. An assisting municipal\ncorporation or fire district may assume any such loss, damage, expense\nor cost or loan such equipment and apparatus or donate such services to\nthe receiving municipal corporation or fire district without charge or\ncost.\n 3. A county, city, town, village or fire district shall be liable for\nall payments to be made to or on behalf of injured volunteer\nfirefighters or to representatives of deceased volunteer firefighters\npursuant to and in accordance with the provisions of the volunteer\nfirefighters' benefit law. The amount so paid by a town shall be\nassessed in the manner provided in such law.\n 4. Neither the state nor the civil or political subdivision of the\nstate whose police or fire forces or employees are engaged in rendering\nsuch outside aid and assistance pursuant to any request for aid and\nassistance or pursuant to direction of the governor or other official or\nagency authorized by, or pursuant to law so to direct shall be liable or\naccountable in any way or on account of any act or omission on the part\nof any officer or member of such forces or of any such employee while so\nengaged or for or on account of the operation, maintenance or use of any\napparatus, equipment, materials or supplies in connection therewith, nor\nshall any sheriff be held liable or accountable in any way for or on\naccount of any act or omission on the part of any of his or her deputies\nwithin or without the county of their appointment where such deputies\nare under the command of an officer other than himself or herself.\n 5. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, general, special\nor local, (a) any county whose sheriff, or in the county of Nassau the\ncounty executive, declared a state of special emergency within his or\nher county pursuant to section two hundred nine-f of this article, which\nresulted in men or women and/or equipment being furnished by the sheriff\nof another county for use in the county of the sheriff, or in the county\nof Nassau the county executive, declaring the state of emergency, shall\nbe liable and responsible to the county of the assisting sheriff for\nsalaries or other compensation paid or due the persons comprising the\nassisting forces during the time they were engaged in performing\nservices in the county of the requesting sheriff, or in the county of\nNassau the county executive, and for all loss or damage to apparatus,\nequipment and supplies used or consumed by the persons comprising such\nassisting forces in rendering aid and assistance in the county of the\nrequesting sheriff, or in the county of Nassau the county executive,\nprovided an itemized claim therefor is submitted in writing to the chief\nfiscal officer of the county of the requesting sheriff, or in the county\nof Nassau the county executive, within sixty days after the termination\nof such an emergency. An assisting county may, however, assume any such\ncost, loss or damage, and all payments made or to be made to or on\nbehalf of such persons comprising such assisting forces or to\nrepresentatives of deceased persons who comprised such assisting forces\npursuant to and in accordance with the provisions of any applicable law,\nrule or ordinance, including the workmen's compensation law which shall\nbe deemed to be applicable. Neither the county whose sheriff responded\nwith men and/or equipment to a request for assistance made by another\nsheriff who declared a state of special emergency, or in the county of\nNassau the county executive, nor a responding sheriff or employee of the\nresponding county, shall be liable or accountable in any way for any act\nor omission on the part of any person during the continuance of any such\nemergency, including but not restricted to the operation, maintenance or\nuse of any apparatus, equipment or supplies in connection therewith, nor\nshall any sheriff be held liable or accountable in any way for or on\naccount of any act or omission on the part of any of his or her deputies\nwithin or without the county of their appointment where such deputies\nare under the command of any person other than himself or herself, and\n(b) the city, town or village receiving police aid pursuant to section\ntwo hundred nine-f of this article shall assume the liability for all\ndamages arising out of any act performed in rendering such aid and shall\nreimburse the assisting city, town, village, parkway police force, state\npark police force and/or county police department for any moneys paid by\nit for salaries or for other expenses incurred by it, including damage\nto or loss of equipment and supplies. An assisting city, town, village,\nparkway police force, state park police force and/or county police\ndepartment may, however, assume in whole or in part any such cost, loss,\ndamage or other cost or charge sustained or suffered by it which is\napplicable to its rendering such aid, by taking appropriate action to\naccomplish the same, and the county of the receiving city, town or\nvillage may, by appropriate action, elect to obligate itself to pay all\nor part of any money which such receiving municipality is obliged to pay\narising out of and applicable to its having received such aid, and (c) a\nregular, part time or special deputy sheriff of a county shall not, for\nany reason, lose or forfeit any right, benefit or privilege which he or\nshe would have had in the county of his or her residence by becoming\nand/or acting as an emergency special deputy sheriff of another county\nduring an emergency.\n 6. The commissioner of the division of homeland security and emergency\nservices, in consultation with the state fire administrator, may\npromulgate rules and regulations necessary to carry out the purpose and\nprovisions of this section.\n