§ 209-w. Permanent appointment of fire fighters; completion of
training program. 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general,
special, or local law or charter to the contrary, no person shall, after
the effective date of regulations adopted by the state fire
administrator pursuant to section one hundred fifty-eight of the
executive law, receive an original appointment on a permanent basis as a
fire fighter of any county, city, town, village, or fire district unless
such person has previously been awarded a certificate by the state fire
administrator attesting to his or her satisfactory completion of an
approved fire basic training program; and every person who is appointed
on a temporary basis or for a probationary term or on other than a
permanent basis as a fire fighter of any county, city, town, village or
fire district shall forfeit his or her position as such unless he or she
previously has satisfactorily completed, or within the time prescribed
by regulations promulgated by the state fire administrator pursuant to
section one hundred fifty-eight of the executive law, satisfactorily
completes, a fire basic training program for temporary or probationary
fire fighters and is awarded a certificate by the state fire
administrator attesting thereto.

2. The term fire fighter, as used in this section, shall mean a member
of a fire department whose duties include fire service as the phrase
fire service is defined in paragraph d of subdivision eleven of section
three hundred two of the retirement and social security law.

3. Nothing in this section shall be construed to exempt any fire
fighter or other officer or employee from the provisions of the civil
service law.

4. The provisions of this section shall not prevent the establishment
of more restrictive local requirements for appointment of fire fighters.

5. Any person whose name was on an eligible list for appointment in
the competitive class of the civil service as a fire fighter on the
effective date of any rules and regulations promulgated by the state
fire administrator pursuant to section one hundred fifty-eight of the
executive law shall continue to remain eligible for permanent
appointment from such list during the life of such list without
satisfying the requirements set forth in subdivision one of this
section, provided he or she would otherwise have remained eligible for
permanent appointment from such list if this section had not been
enacted.

6. The provisions of this section shall not apply to appointments made
by any county, city, town, village or fire district which employs five
or fewer fire fighters.