§ 176-a. Duties of chief and assistant chiefs of fire department of
fire district. 1. The chief shall, under the direction of the board of
fire commissioners, have exclusive control of the members of the fire
department of the fire district at all fires, inspections, reviews and
other occasions when the fire department is on duty or parade; he shall
also have supervision of the engines, fire trucks, pumpers, hose wagons
and other apparatus and of the equipment and other property used for the
prevention or extinguishment of fire and of all officers and employees
of the fire department. He shall see that the rules and regulations of
the board of fire commissioners are observed and that the orders of the
board of fire commissioners are duly executed. He shall, whenever
required by the board of fire commissioners, report to said board the
condition of the property of said fire district and such other
information as may be required of him. He shall hold the members,
officers and employees of the fire department strictly to account for
neglect of duty and may suspend them for improper conduct, subject to
the action of the board of fire commissioners at its next meeting. In
case of the disability or absence of the chief, the first assistant
chief, and in the case of the disability or absence of both the chief
and first assistant chief, the other assistants, in numerical order,
shall perform the duties and exercise the powers of the chief. When the
fire department or any company or squad thereof is on duty no member of
the board of fire commissioners shall interfere with the duties of the
chief or assistant chief.

2. If an agreement in relation to the issuance of fire permits is
entered into between the town board and the board of fire commissioners
pursuant to section one hundred thirty-nine and subdivision twenty-four
of section one hundred seventy-six of this chapter, the duties performed
for the fire district by the chief, or an assistant chief, of the fire
district fire department in relation to the issuance of the fire permit,
or any preliminary investigation in connection therewith shall, in the
case of any such officer who is a volunteer firefighter, be deemed to
have been performed by him or her in his or her capacity as such and to
be a duty within the meaning of paragraph c of subdivision one of
section five of the volunteer firefighters' benefit law and shall, in
the case of any such officer who is a paid firefighter, be deemed to
have been performed by him or her in his or her capacity as such and to
be a duty within the meaning of section two hundred seven-a of the
general municipal law and other laws applicable in the event of injuries
to or death of paid firefighters in line of duty. A chief or an
assistant chief who is a volunteer firefighter shall not receive any
remuneration for his or her services in relation to the issuance of such
permits and any investigation in relation thereto, and any such officer
who is a paid firefighter shall not receive any additional remuneration
above his or her regular salary for any such service. Any such officer
shall, however, be entitled to his or her actual and necessary travel
expenses or mileage in connection with such services as provided in
section one hundred seventy-eight-c of this article.