Legislation

Search OpenLegislation Statutes

This entry was published on 2014-09-22
The selection dates indicate all change milestones for the entire volume, not just the location being viewed. Specifying a milestone date will retrieve the most recent version of the location before that date.
SECTION 209-G
Liability for outside aid
General Municipal (GMU) CHAPTER 24, ARTICLE 10
§ 209-g. Liability for outside aid. 1. Notwithstanding any
inconsistent provision of law, general, special or local, any county,
city, town, village or fire district requesting fire aid pursuant to
section two hundred nine-e of this article or any county, city, town or
village requesting police aid pursuant to section two hundred nine-f of
this article, shall be liable and responsible to the assisting municipal
corporation or fire district for any loss of or damage to apparatus or
equipment or supplies and shall bear and pay the expense incurred in the
operation and maintenance of any apparatus or equipment and the cost of
materials and supplies used or consumed in rendering such aid and
assistance, but such liability and responsibility shall not apply or
extend to apparatus, equipment, materials and supplies owned or supplied
by the state.

2. The state or assisting municipal corporation or fire district in
such case shall be liable for salaries or other compensation to the
assisting forces furnished during the time they shall not be performing
their duties for the state or for the assisting municipal corporation or
fire district and shall defray the actual traveling and maintenance
expense of such assisting forces while they are rendering such aid and
assistance, but the receiving municipal corporation or fire district
shall reimburse the assisting municipal corporation or fire district for
any moneys paid for such salaries or other compensation and traveling
and maintenance expense. Any such claim for loss, damage, expense or
cost shall not be allowed unless within sixty days after the same shall
have been sustained or incurred a written notice of such claim, under
oath, itemizing such loss, damage, expense or cost, is served by mail or
otherwise upon the comptroller or chief fiscal officer of such receiving
municipal corporation or fire district. An assisting municipal
corporation or fire district may assume any such loss, damage, expense
or cost or loan such equipment and apparatus or donate such services to
the receiving municipal corporation or fire district without charge or
cost.

3. A county, city, town, village or fire district shall be liable for
all payments to be made to or on behalf of injured volunteer
firefighters or to representatives of deceased volunteer firefighters
pursuant to and in accordance with the provisions of the volunteer
firefighters' benefit law. The amount so paid by a town shall be
assessed in the manner provided in such law.

4. Neither the state nor the civil or political subdivision of the
state whose police or fire forces or employees are engaged in rendering
such outside aid and assistance pursuant to any request for aid and
assistance or pursuant to direction of the governor or other official or
agency authorized by, or pursuant to law so to direct shall be liable or
accountable in any way or on account of any act or omission on the part
of any officer or member of such forces or of any such employee while so
engaged or for or on account of the operation, maintenance or use of any
apparatus, equipment, materials or supplies in connection therewith, nor
shall any sheriff be held liable or accountable in any way for or on
account of any act or omission on the part of any of his or her deputies
within or without the county of their appointment where such deputies
are under the command of an officer other than himself or herself.

5. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, general, special
or local, (a) any county whose sheriff, or in the county of Nassau the
county executive, declared a state of special emergency within his or
her county pursuant to section two hundred nine-f of this article, which
resulted in men or women and/or equipment being furnished by the sheriff
of another county for use in the county of the sheriff, or in the county
of Nassau the county executive, declaring the state of emergency, shall
be liable and responsible to the county of the assisting sheriff for
salaries or other compensation paid or due the persons comprising the
assisting forces during the time they were engaged in performing
services in the county of the requesting sheriff, or in the county of
Nassau the county executive, and for all loss or damage to apparatus,
equipment and supplies used or consumed by the persons comprising such
assisting forces in rendering aid and assistance in the county of the
requesting sheriff, or in the county of Nassau the county executive,
provided an itemized claim therefor is submitted in writing to the chief
fiscal officer of the county of the requesting sheriff, or in the county
of Nassau the county executive, within sixty days after the termination
of such an emergency. An assisting county may, however, assume any such
cost, loss or damage, and all payments made or to be made to or on
behalf of such persons comprising such assisting forces or to
representatives of deceased persons who comprised such assisting forces
pursuant to and in accordance with the provisions of any applicable law,
rule or ordinance, including the workmen's compensation law which shall
be deemed to be applicable. Neither the county whose sheriff responded
with men and/or equipment to a request for assistance made by another
sheriff who declared a state of special emergency, or in the county of
Nassau the county executive, nor a responding sheriff or employee of the
responding county, shall be liable or accountable in any way for any act
or omission on the part of any person during the continuance of any such
emergency, including but not restricted to the operation, maintenance or
use of any apparatus, equipment or supplies in connection therewith, nor
shall any sheriff be held liable or accountable in any way for or on
account of any act or omission on the part of any of his or her deputies
within or without the county of their appointment where such deputies
are under the command of any person other than himself or herself, and
(b) the city, town or village receiving police aid pursuant to section
two hundred nine-f of this article shall assume the liability for all
damages arising out of any act performed in rendering such aid and shall
reimburse the assisting city, town, village, parkway police force, state
park police force and/or county police department for any moneys paid by
it for salaries or for other expenses incurred by it, including damage
to or loss of equipment and supplies. An assisting city, town, village,
parkway police force, state park police force and/or county police
department may, however, assume in whole or in part any such cost, loss,
damage or other cost or charge sustained or suffered by it which is
applicable to its rendering such aid, by taking appropriate action to
accomplish the same, and the county of the receiving city, town or
village may, by appropriate action, elect to obligate itself to pay all
or part of any money which such receiving municipality is obliged to pay
arising out of and applicable to its having received such aid, and (c) a
regular, part time or special deputy sheriff of a county shall not, for
any reason, lose or forfeit any right, benefit or privilege which he or
she would have had in the county of his or her residence by becoming
and/or acting as an emergency special deputy sheriff of another county
during an emergency.

6. The commissioner of the division of homeland security and emergency
services, in consultation with the state fire administrator, may
promulgate rules and regulations necessary to carry out the purpose and
provisions of this section.