PRINTER'S NO. 3411
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
2092
Session of
2015
INTRODUCED BY TALLMAN, MILLARD, LEWIS, DIAMOND, SCHLEGEL CULVER,
PHILLIPS-HILL, GILLEN, KNOWLES, BARRAR AND SAINATO,
MAY 23, 2016
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS AND EMERGENCY
PREPAREDNESS, MAY 23, 2016
AN ACT
Amending Title 35 (Health and Safety) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, in volunteer firefighters, further
providing for scope of subchapter, for definitions, for
confirmation, for powers, for power and authority in places
other than where appointed and for badge of authority and
subordination.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Sections 7431, 7432, 7434, 7435(a), 7436 and 7437
of Title 35 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes are
amended to read:
§ 7431. Scope of subchapter.
This subchapter applies to a volunteer fire company in [any
city, borough, town, township or home rule municipality] a
political subdivision.
§ 7432. Definitions [(Reserved)].
The following words and phrases when used in this subchapter
shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
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" Chief elected executive officer. " The mayor, chairperson of
the board or chief executive officer of a political subdivision.
" Chief law enforcement officer. " The head of a municipal law
enforcement agency which regularly provides primary police
services to a political subdivision. If the political
subdivision in which a fire police officer is serving does not
have a head of a municipal law enforcement agency, an officer of
the Pennsylvania State Police.
" Fire police officer. " A member of a volunteer fire company
nominated by the members of the volunteer fire company and
confirmed by the chief elected executive officer to perform
traffic control and crowd control duties at incident sites or
local events.
" Incident. " An event or condition which constitutes an
actual or imminent threat to public health and safety and public
or private property.
" Incident commander. " The individual responsible for all
incident-related activities, including the development of
strategies and tactics and the ordering and releasing of
resources as provided under the National Incident Management
System.
" Mutual aid. " Mutual assistance and sharing of resources
among participating political subdivisions in the prevention of,
response to and recovery from threats to public health and
safety that are beyond the capability of an affected political
subdivision to respond.
"Political subdivision . " The term shall include a council of
governments.
§ 7434. Confirmation.
Special fire police nominated under this subchapter shall,
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before they enter upon their duties, be confirmed by the [mayor
of the city, the mayor of the borough or town, the chairman of
the board of commissioners or supervisors of the township or the
chief executive officer of a home rule municipality, as the case
may be] chief elected executive officer.
§ 7435. Powers.
(a) Specific powers.--When confirmed and sworn and
displaying a badge of authority, special fire police shall have
full power to regulate traffic and keep crowds under control at
or in the vicinity of any fire on which their companies are in
attendance and to exercise other police powers necessary to
facilitate and prevent interference with the work of firemen in
extinguishing fires. They shall also have the police powers
necessary to perform their duties when functioning as special
fire police at any function, event or parade conducted by and
under the auspices of a volunteer fire company, or another
event, function or parade conducted by an organization other
than a volunteer fire company, provided that the request to
perform these duties is made by the governing body of the [city,
borough, town, township or home rule municipality] political
subdivision in which the event will be conducted, or when
accidents, floods or any other emergencies require performance
of traffic-control and crowd-control duties. The duties may be
performed without prior request from the governing body until
the arrival of proper State[, city, borough, town, township or
home rule municipality] or political subdivision police
authority and thereafter subject to direction of the police
authority until the emergency no longer exists. A person
functioning as special fire police and performing a duty under
any of the conditions in this subsection shall be deemed to be
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performing the duties of his employment.
* * *
§ 7436. Power and authority in places other than where
appointed.
Whenever a volunteer fire company is in attendance on a fire
or when the special fire police are on special duty as provided
under this subchapter, the special fire police in a [city,
borough, town or township] political subdivision, other than the
one in which the fire company is organized, shall have the same
power and authority in another [city, borough, town or township]
political subdivision as they would have where they were
appointed.
§ 7437. Badge of authority and subordination.
All special fire police when on duty shall display a badge of
authority and shall be subject to the control of the [chief of
police, if any, of the city, borough, town or township in which
they are serving, or, if none, of a member of the Pennsylvania
State Police] chief law enforcement officer.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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