§ 9-1-27 — § 9-1-27. Police and firefighters — Immunity from liability.

§ 9-1-27. Police and firefighters — Immunity from liability.

No member of any police force or fire department of the state or any city or town, investigators of the department of attorney general appointed pursuant to § 42-9-8.1, inspectors and agents of the Rhode Island state fugitive task force appointed pursuant to § 12-6-7.2, or any person acting in the capacity of a rescue attendant or member of a rescue squad, and no officer or member in active service in any incorporated protective department cooperating with fire departments, and no person performing the duties of a firefighter in a town or city, and no member of any volunteer fire company or volunteer rescue squad or member of any voluntary ambulance association, whether the company or squad is incorporated or not, who while on duty and in the performance of that duty voluntarily and gratuitously renders emergency assistance to a person in need thereof, and no person properly certified by the American heart association or the American national red cross in basic or advanced life support as defined in the standards of the American heart association or the American national red cross who voluntarily and gratuitously renders emergency assistance to a person in need thereof shall be liable for civil damages for any personal injuries or property damage which result from acts or omissions by the persons rendering the emergency care, which may constitute ordinary negligence. This immunity does not apply to acts or omissions constituting gross, willful, or wanton negligence.

Legislative History

P.L. 1968, ch. 173, § 1; P.L. 1972, ch. 215, § 1; P.L. 1978, ch. 238, § 1; P.L. 1992, ch. 286, § 1; P.L. 1993, ch. 423, § 1; P.L. 2006, ch. 577, § 1.