N.Y. General Municipal Law § 209-bb: Specialized teams; volunteer wilderness/inland search and rescue teams

§ 209-bb. Specialized teams; volunteer wilderness/inland search and

rescue teams. 1. a. By resolution, after a public hearing the governing

body of each county, city and town is authorized, respectively, to

establish, maintain and supervise municipal-wide and inter-municipal

specialized teams.

b. Counties, cities and towns are authorized to appropriate and expend

such sums as are deemed necessary to establish and maintain specialized

teams pursuant to this section.

c. Municipalities and organizations that insure volunteer

firefighters, volunteer ambulance workers or municipal employees, as the

term "employee" is defined under section eighteen of the public officers

law, may extend such insurance coverage to members of a specialized team

by resolution.

d. For the purposes of this section, "specialized teams" shall mean

any emergency team or squad composed of volunteer firefighters,

volunteer ambulance workers or municipal employees, who shall have

attained the minimum level of training or experience to meet qualifying

standards established by the office of fire prevention and control, and

which is administered by the state, a county, city or town for the

purposes of training for or responding to a man made or natural disaster

by carrying out any activities which are within the relevant training

and expertise of such municipal employees or are authorized pursuant to

the volunteer firefighters' benefit law or the volunteer ambulance

workers' benefit law but which are not normally provided by such

entities.

2. a. The governing body of each county, city, town and village is

authorized, respectively, to contract for the assistance of a volunteer

wilderness/inland search and rescue team for the purpose of locating and

rescuing an individual or individuals.

b. No municipality shall be liable for the injury, death or damage to

a volunteer wilderness/inland search and rescue team or its members

occurring during the performance of the activities authorized by this

section. Such team and its members shall indemnify and hold harmless the

municipality that contracted for assistance with such volunteer

wilderness/inland search and rescue team pursuant to this section

against any claim of liability for any injury, death or property damage

that may occur as a result of an act of such team and its members,

including, but not limited to, any indemnity paid, attorneys' fees,

costs and litigation expenses. The provisions of this subdivision shall

not apply when the municipality has engaged in willful misconduct, gross

negligence or recklessness.

c. For purposes of this section, "volunteer wilderness/inland search

and rescue team" or "team" shall mean an organization: whose members

have obtained a minimum level of training or experience as may be

established by the department of environmental conservation's office of

public protection; that is formed for the purpose of locating and

rescuing, or recovering, a known individual or known individuals, in an

unknown location, whose safety may be threatened by conditions related

to the environment or other factors; that is incorporated under the laws

of New York state; and that operates not for pecuniary profit or

financial gain.

d. For the purposes of this section, "volunteer wilderness/inland

search and rescue team member" shall mean an active volunteer member of

a volunteer search and rescue team who meets the minimum level of

training or experience pursuant to paragraph c of this subdivision and

is specified on a list regularly maintained by the volunteer

wilderness/inland search and rescue team. Such list shall be provided to

a requesting municipality. In addition, for purposes of this section, a

volunteer wilderness/inland search and rescue team member shall be an

independent contractor and shall not be considered an officer or

employee of the contracting municipality.

3. Whenever a law enforcement agency or other state agency is engaged

in a search or rescue operation, any volunteer wilderness/inland search

and rescue team involved in such operation shall be subject to the

command and control of the law enforcement or other state agency

conducting such operation.