N.Y. General Municipal Law Section 204-A
Raising of funds for fire company purposes

1.

Definitions. As used in this section:

a.

“Fire company” means:

(1)

A volunteer fire company of a county, city, town, village or fire district fire department, whether or not any such company has been incorporated under any general or special law, (2) A fire corporation the members of which are volunteer firefighters and was incorporated, and which is not included within subparagraph (1) of this paragraph, if such corporation is by law under the general control of, or recognized as a fire corporation by, the governing board of a city, town, village or fire district, or

(3)

A fire corporation the members of which are volunteer firefighters and which was incorporated under, or established pursuant to the provisions of, any general or special law, which is not included within this subparagraph and subparagraph (2) of this paragraph, if such corporation is by law under the general control of, or recognized as a fire corporation by, the governing board of a city, town, village, fire district or a district corporation other than a fire district.

b.

“Fund raising activity” means a method of raising funds to effectuate the lawful purposes of a fire company, but shall not include any method prohibited by the state constitution or the penal statutes of this state, public fireworks displays unless conducted in compliance with section 405.00 of the penal law, or the conduct of a business or other commercial enterprise except on temporary basis for a period or periods not to exceed a total of ninety days in any calendar year. Such term “fund raising activity” shall not include drills, parades, inspections, reviews, competitive tournaments, contests or public exhibitions, described in paragraphs e and i of subdivision one of section five of the volunteer firefighters’ benefit law, even though prizes are awarded at such events.

c.

“Governing board of the political subdivision” means the governing board of the county, city, town, village, fire district or other district corporation, as the case may be, where the fire company is under the general control of, or recognized as a fire corporation, by such governing board.

2.

Subject to the provisions of this section, a fire company may engage in a fund raising activity. Two or more fire companies may join in any such activity, and for the purposes of this section such group shall be deemed a “fire company.” 3. A fund raising activity shall not be conducted contrary to the by-laws, rules or regulations of the fire company or of the fire department of which it is a part.

4.

A fund raising activity must be conducted within the state of New York. It shall be under the exclusive auspices of a fire company and shall not be conducted in partnership with any other person, organization, firm or corporation. This subdivision shall not be deemed to prohibit the letting of concessions, or the entering into of contracts for rides or other attractions, at such activities, or the acceptance of aid and assistance of persons who are not active members of the fire company, or of other organizations, firms or corporations, in connection with such activities. The acceptance of such aid and assistance shall not subject the political subdivision to any liability as an employer under the volunteer firefighters’ benefit law, § 207-A (Payment of salary, medical and hospital expenses of firefighters with injuries or illness incurred in performance of duties)section two hundred seven-a of this article, the workers’ compensation law, or any other comparable law.

5.

The firehouse, firehouse grounds, fire vehicles and apparatus, or other property, real and personal, generally used by the fire company for its purposes may be used by it in the conduct of any such activity.

6.

The governing board of a political subdivision may, by resolution, (a) prohibit the fire company from engaging in fund raising activities or in any general or specific type of fund raising activity, (b) require the fire company, at its expense, to provide any insurance protection which such governing board deems necessary to protect the political subdivision against claims and actions for damages by third parties arising out of or in connection with a fund raising activity.

7.

Participation by volunteer firefighters in fund raising activities shall not be deemed to constitute “duty as volunteer firefighters” within the meaning of § 205-B (Relief of volunteer firefighters engaged in the performance of duty as such firefighters from civil liability and liability of fire distr...)section two hundred five-b of this article.

8.

Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, the provisions of this subdivision shall be applicable only in relation to fund raising activities for which benefits would be paid and provided pursuant to paragraph m of subdivision one of section five of the volunteer firefighters’ benefit law: (a) Before engaging in a fund raising activity the fire company shall cause the governing board of the political subdivision to be notified in writing that it proposes to conduct such activity. Any such notice shall contain a general description of the method which will be used to raise funds and shall specify the time or times when, the place or places where, and the period or periods during which the activity will be conducted and shall set forth the names of the firefighters who will serve on each of the committees or subcommittees in connection with the activity. Any such notice shall be filed with the clerk, secretary or other comparable officer of such governing board. In the event that no action is taken by such governing board prohibiting such activity within thirty days after the filing of such notice, then it shall be deemed that the governing board has no objection to such activity and the fire company may proceed to conduct the same. (b) Sales of tickets for admission to or in connection with a fund raising activity shall be by persons appointed as a committee for such purpose and shall be for or in relation to a fund raising activity to be held within sixty days after the sale of the tickets commences. (c) Members of the fire company conducting the fund raising activity who attend or participate in the activity for their own pleasure or convenience, and not as a worker in connection therewith, shall not be deemed to be engaged in the conduct of such activity.

Source: Section 204-A — Raising of funds for fire company purposes, https://www.­nysenate.­gov/legislation/laws/GMU/204-A (updated Jan. 11, 2019; accessed Oct. 26, 2024).

200
Defining qualifications of exempt volunteer firefighters 200‑A
Volunteer firefighters serving in more than one fire company or fire department 200‑AA
Training stipend for volunteer firefighters 200‑B
Leaves of absence for volunteer firefighters entering the armed forces of the United States prior to July first, nineteen hundred sixty-six 200‑C
Leaves of absence for volunteer firefighters entering the armed forces of the United States on or after July first, nineteen hundred sixt... 201
Rights and privileges of exempt volunteer firefighters 202
Certificate to be issued to exempt volunteer firefighter 202‑A
Recording certificates of exempt volunteer firefighter 203
List of exempt volunteer firefighters to be filed 204
Qualifications necessary to entitle to certain exemptions 204‑A
Raising of funds for fire company purposes 204‑B
Youth programs 204‑C
Plan for arson investigation 204‑D
Duties of the fire chief 204‑DD
Qualifications of a fire chief 204‑E
Unauthorized destruction of property 204‑F
Plan for hazardous materials incidents response 204‑G
Restrictions on the use of firefighting foam containing PFAS chemicals 205
Payments to injured or representatives of deceased volunteer firefighters 205‑A
Additional right of action to certain injured or representatives of certain deceased firefighters 205‑B
Relief of volunteer firefighters engaged in the performance of duty as such firefighters from civil liability and liability of fire distr... 205‑C
Payments pending controversies where volunteer firefighters are killed or injured 205‑CC
Volunteer firefighter enhanced cancer disability benefits 205‑D
Relief from civil liability for acts or omissions by fire wardens in the city of New York 205‑E
Right of action to certain injured or representatives of certain deceased police officers 205‑F
Removal of civil liability barriers 205‑G
Defense and indemnification of volunteer firefighters 206
Certificate to police officers and firefighters 206‑A
Penalty for improper use of certificates 206‑B
Exemption of benefits payable under blanket accident insurance covering volunteer firefighters 207
Hospitalization of members of fire departments in certain cities 207‑A
Payment of salary, medical and hospital expenses of firefighters with injuries or illness incurred in performance of duties 207‑B
Additional retirement benefits for certain firefighters in cities 207‑C
Payment of salary, wages, medical and hospital expenses of police officers with injuries or illness incurred in the performance of duties 207‑D
Additional retirement benefits for certain police officers in cities and certain villages 207‑E
Minimum retirement benefits for police officers in cities and who are members of police pension or retirement systems maintained by such ... 207‑E*2
Minimum retirement benefits for firefighters in cities and who are members of fire department pension or retirement systems maintained by... 207‑F
Ordinary death benefits of members of fire department systems of cities 207‑G
Ordinary death benefits of members of police retirement systems 207‑H
Death benefits of members of certain fire department pension or retirement systems of cities 207‑H*2
Death benefits of members of certain police pension systems 207‑I
Temporary supplemental retirement allowances for certain police officers 207‑I*2
Supplemental retirement allowances of retired firefighters of cities 207‑II
Payment of supplemental retirement allowances of retired police officers and firefighters of certain cities 207‑J
Supplemental pension allowances of certain retired teachers of cities 207‑K
Disabilities of policemen and firemen in certain cities 207‑K*2
Disabilities of policemen and firemen in certain cities 207‑KK
Disabilities of firefighters in certain cities caused by cancer 207‑KKK
Disabilities of firefighters in certain cities caused by Parkinson’s Disease 207‑L
Temporary supplemental retirement allowances for certain police officers in towns and villages 207‑N
Performance of duty disability retirement 207‑O
Performance of duty disability retirement 207‑O*2
Disabilities of members of the uniformed force of correction departments in certain cities 207‑P
Performance of duty disability retirement 207‑Q
Firefighters 207‑Q*2
Disabilities of emergency medical technicians or advanced emergency medical technicians in certain cities 208
Members of police force to have one day rest in seven 208‑A
School guards 208‑B
Death benefits for beneficiaries of certain police officers and firefighters 208‑C
Death benefits for dependent fathers or dependent mothers of certain police officers and firefighters 208‑D
Extra work by members of certain police forces 208‑D*2
Compensation during disability 208‑D*3
Extra work by members of a police force in cities 208‑E
Extra work by members of certain police forces 208‑F
Special accidental death benefit 208‑G
Community activity by members of a police force 208‑H
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation training and retraining for police departments in cities having a population of one million or more 1 209
Outside service by local fire departments, companies, ambulance districts and airport crash-fire-rescue units 209‑A
Relations with other states and the dominion of Canada 209‑AA
Paid leave for disaster service volunteers 209‑AA*2
Appointment of private college campus security officers at independent non-profit colleges 209‑B
Emergency rescue and first aid squads 209‑BB
Specialized teams 209‑C
Fire police squads of fire departments and fire companies 209‑CC
Notification of presence of wild animals and dangerous dogs 209‑D
Contracts for outside service by volunteer fire departments and companies 209‑DD
Discovery of unlawful drug laboratory 209‑E
Fire mobilization and mutual aid plan 209‑EE
Adoption of a code of ethics and disclosure of interests by fire companies 209‑F
Outside service by local police forces 209‑FF
Provisions relating to certain accidental disability benefits 209‑FFF
Provisions relating to a membership date in the New York city police pension fund attributable to service in the titles of police cadet p... 209‑G
Liability for outside aid 209‑I
Emergency service by volunteer firefighters 209‑J
Mutual aid programs in counties 209‑L
Removal of volunteer officers and volunteer members of fire departments 209‑M
Outside service by local police 209‑P
Relay of fire and emergency calls 209‑Q
Permanent appointment of police officers 209‑R
Police protection 209‑S
Contracts between municipalities and fire districts for joint fire training centers 209‑T
Contracts for joint fire alarm systems 209‑U
Notification of presence of hazardous materials 209‑V
Employment of retired persons as special patrolmen for publicly owned property 209‑W
Permanent appointment of fire fighters 209‑X
Training of certain paid city firefighters promoted to a first-line supervisory position 209‑Y
Establishment of hazardous materials emergency response teams 209‑Z
Annual independent audits
Green check means up to date. Up to date

Accessed:
Oct. 26, 2024

Last modified:
Jan. 11, 2019

§ 204-A’s source at nysenate​.gov

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