§ 205-g. Defense and indemnification of volunteer firefighters. 1. As
used in this section:

a. "Volunteer firefighter" means an active member of a fire company.

b. "Fire company" means: (i) A fire company of a city, town, village
or fire district fire department, whether or not any such company has
been incorporated under any general or special law,

(ii) A fire corporation incorporated under or subject to the
provisions of article ten of the not-for-profit corporation law, which
is not included within subparagraph (i) 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

(iii) A fire corporation incorporated under, or established pursuant
to the provision of, any general or special law, which is not included
within subparagraphs (i) or (ii) 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 Indian reservation. A "fire department" may be composed of
one or more fire companies.

c. "Line of duty" means the performance by a volunteer firefighter of
the duties and activities described in subdivision one of section five
of the volunteer firefighters' benefit law and the same such duties and
activities performed for a specialized team established pursuant to the
provisions of section two hundred nine-bb of this article for which the
volunteer firefighter does not receive any remuneration or a gratuity
and shall be deemed to include any date of injury as determined by the
workers' compensation board pursuant to the provisions of section
forty-one of the volunteer firefighters' benefit law. The following
shall not be deemed to be remuneration or a gratuity: reimbursement of
expenses for meals, lodging and actual and necessary travel; the receipt
of a mileage allowance in lieu of travel expense; reimbursement of
expenses for registration and tuition fees payable under section
seventy-two-g of this chapter, the acceptance of transportation, food,
drink, shelter, clothing and similar items while on duty or engaged in
such activities; and receipt of a training stipend as outlined in
section two hundred-aa of this article.

d. "Public entity" means the city, town, village or fire district
having general control of the fire company.

2. The public entity shall provide for the defense of the volunteer
firefighter in any civil action or proceeding, state or federal, arising
out of any alleged act or omission which occurred or allegedly occurred
while the volunteer firefighter was acting in the line of duty if the
volunteer firefighter is in compliance with the provisions of
subdivision seven of this section. This duty to provide for a defense
shall not arise where such civil action or proceeding is brought by or
at the behest of the public entity.

3. Subject to the conditions set forth in subdivision two of this
section, the volunteer firefighter shall be entitled to be represented
by private counsel of his or her choice in any civil action or
proceeding whenever the chief legal officer of the public entity or
other counsel designated by the public entity determines that a conflict
of interest exists, or whenever a court, upon appropriate motion or
otherwise by a special proceeding, determines that a conflict of
interest exists and that the volunteer firefighter is entitled to be
represented by counsel of his or her choice, provided, however, that the
chief legal officer or other counsel designated by the public entity may
require, as a condition to payment of the fees and expenses of such
representation, that appropriate groups of such volunteer firefighters
be represented by the same counsel. Reasonable attorneys' fees and
litigation expenses shall be paid by the public entity to such private
counsel from time to time during the pendency of the civil action or
proceeding with the approval of the governing body of the public entity.

4. Any dispute with respect to representation of multiple volunteer
firefighters by a single counsel or the amount of litigation expenses or
the reasonableness of attorneys' fees shall be resolved by the court
upon motion or by way of a special proceeding.

5. Where the volunteer firefighter delivers process and a written
request for a defense to the public entity under subdivision seven of
this section, the public entity shall take the necessary steps on behalf
of the volunteer firefighter to avoid entry of a default judgment
pending resolution of any question pertaining to the obligation to
provide for a defense.

6. a. The public entity shall indemnify and save harmless its
volunteer firefighters in the amount of any judgment obtained against
such volunteer firefighters in a state or federal court, or in the
amount of any settlement of a claim, provided that the act or omission
from which such judgment or claim arose occurred while the volunteer
firefighter was acting in the line of duty; provided further that in the
case of a settlement the duty to indemnify and save harmless shall be
conditioned upon the approval of the amount of settlement by the
governing body of the public entity.

b. The duty to indemnify and save harmless shall be construed in the
same manner as provided in section two hundred five-b of this article.

c. Nothing in this subdivision shall authorize a public entity to
indemnify or save harmless a volunteer firefighter with respect to
punitive or exemplary damages, fines or penalties, or money recovered
from a volunteer firefighter pursuant to section fifty-one of this
chapter; provided, however, that the public entity shall indemnify and
save harmless its volunteer firefighters in the amount of any costs,
attorneys' fees, damages, fines or penalties which may be imposed by
reason of an adjudication that a volunteer firefighter, acting in the
line of duty, has, without willfulness or intent on his or her part,
violated a prior order, judgment, consent decree or stipulation of
settlement entered in any court of this state or of the United States.

d. Upon entry of a final judgment against the volunteer firefighter,
or upon the settlement of the claim, the volunteer firefighter shall
serve a copy of such judgment or settlement, personally or by certified
or registered mail within thirty days of the date of entry or
settlement, upon the chief administrative officer of the public entity;
and if not inconsistent with the provisions of this section, the amount
of such judgment or settlement shall be paid by the public entity.

7. The duty to defend or indemnify and save harmless prescribed by
this section shall be conditioned upon:

a. delivery by the volunteer firefighter to the chief legal officer of
the public entity or to its chief administrative officer of a written
request to provide for his or her defense together with the original or
a copy of any summons, complaint, process, notice, demand or pleading
within ten days after he or she is served with such document;

b. the full cooperation of the volunteer firefighter in the defense of
such action or proceeding and in defense of any action or proceeding
against the public entity based upon the same act or omission, and in
the prosecution of any appeal; and

c. the volunteer firefighter maintaining at least the minimum level of
training required by the public entity.

8. The benefits of this section shall inure only to volunteer
firefighters as defined in this section and shall not enlarge or
diminish the rights of any other party nor shall any provision of this
section be construed to affect, alter or repeal any provision of the
workers' compensation law or volunteer firefighters' benefit law.

9. This section shall not in any way affect the obligation of any
claimant to give notice to the public entity under section ten of the
court of claims act, section fifty-e of this chapter, or any other
provision of law.

10. Any public entity is hereby authorized and empowered to purchase
insurance from any insurance company created by or under the laws of
this state, or authorized by law to transact business in this state,
against any liability imposed by the provisions of this section, or to
act as a self-insurer with respect thereto.

11. All payments made under the terms of this section, whether for
insurance or otherwise, shall be deemed to be for a public purpose and
shall be audited and paid in the same manner as other public charges.

12. The provisions of this section shall not be construed to impair,
alter, limit or modify the rights and obligations of any insurer under
any policy of insurance.

13. Except as otherwise specifically provided in this section, the
provisions of this section shall not be construed in any way to impair,
alter, limit, modify, abrogate or restrict any immunity to liability
available to or conferred upon any unit, entity, officer or volunteer
firefighter of any public entity by, in accordance with, or by reason
of, any other provision of state or federal statutory or common law.