West Bradford Fire Company

The following is a reproduction of the provisions of Act 118. A relief association should always consult with its legal counsel for reference to the official versions of this legislation and any questions of interpretation.

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:

The service of organized groups of individuals, not only in training for and in active duty in the protection of the public against fire, but also in the training for and the performance of such other activities as are commonly undertaken by fire companies and their affiliated organizations, including, but not limited to, fire prevention, first aid, rescue and salvage, ambulance service, fire police work, radio communications, assistance at accidents, control of crowds both on the fire grounds and at occasions of public or general assembly, animal rescue, abatement of conditions due to storm, flood or general peril, abatement or removal of hazards to safety and participation in public celebrations, parades, demonstrations and fundraising campaigns.

(2) a fire police unit, rescue squad, ambulance corps or other like organization affiliated with one or more fire companies; or

(3) a fire company or affiliated organization which participates in the fire service but does not look to that service as his or her primary means of livelihood. A person does not lose status as a volunteer firefighter solely because he or she may also be a paid firefighter, so long as the person is acting within the scope of his or her responsibilities as a member of a volunteer fire company at the pertinent time and not within the scope of his or her responsibilities as a paid firefighter.

An organization formed primarily to afford financial protection to volunteer firefighters against the consequences of misfortune suffered as a result of their participation in the fire service. The organization may contain within its membership the members of one or more fire companies and may serve secondary purposes, as set forth in this subchapter, but only if adequate provisions have been first made to serve the primary purpose.

The purpose of this subchapter is to encourage individuals to take part in the fire service as volunteer firefighters by establishing criteria and standards for orderly administration and conduct of affairs of firefighters' relief associations to ensure, as far as circumstances will reasonably permit, that funds shall be available for the protection of volunteer firefighters and their heirs in order to provide:

(1) Financial assistance to volunteer firefighters who may suffer injury or misfortune by reason of their participation in the fire service.

(2) Financial assistance to the widow, children and other dependents of volunteer firefighters who lose their lives as a result of their participation in the fire service.

(3)For payment, either by insurance or by operation of a beneficial fund, of a sum certain to designated beneficiaries of a participating member following the death of a member for any cause and to establish criteria which members must meet in order to qualify as participants in a death benefit fund.

(4)Safeguards for preserving life, health and safety of volunteer firefighters to ensure their availability to participate in the fire service.

(1) Construed, applied and interpreted, so far as circumstances permit, as justifying the actions of the officers and members of volunteer firefighters' relief associations affected by it, when the actions appear to have been taken in good faith and in a bona fide belief that they were in furtherance of the purposes of this subchapter.

(i) for actions taken in willful disregard of the purposes of this subchapter or with reckless indifference to those purposes; and

(ii) if an action which has been called into question results, has resulted or was likely to result in an unmerited personal benefit to one or more of the persons responsible for taking that action.

A volunteer firefighters' relief association may be a body corporate, governed by a charter and bylaws or an unincorporated association of individuals governed by bylaws and a constitution. In either case, it must provide for taking and preserving minutes of all meetings and maintenance of such books of account as may be necessary and appropriate to afford a permanent record of its fiscal affairs.

(2) Designate the class or classes of persons eligible for membership and procedures to be followed in making amendments.

(1) Specify the requirements for securing membership, voting rights of different classes of members, if there be different classes, and conditions under which membership may be terminated.

(2) State the notice requirements and procedure to be followed in calling meetings, as well as quorum requirements for regular and special meetings of the membership and for regular and special meetings of the body which governs the operations of the association between membership meetings, and shall designate that body, whether it be a board of directors, trustees or any similar body such as an executive committee. Unless otherwise provided for in the bylaws, powers and duties of officers, directors and trustees shall be those which normally pertain to such positions in nonprofit corporations.

(3) Require that the signatures of at least two officers, one of whom shall be the disbursing officer, shall be required to bind the association by formal contract or to issue a negotiable instrument.

(4) Require that the disbursing officer, whether designated treasurer, comptroller, financial secretary or otherwise, shall be bonded by corporate surety for faithful performance of duty. The amount of the bond shall be at least as great as the maximum cash balance in current funds of the association at any time during the fiscal year, and the premium on the bond shall be a proper charge against funds of the association.

(5) State the procedure to be followed in nominating and electing officers, trustees, directors and members of the executive committee, according to the provisions which have been made for establishment of those positions.

(6) Establish procedures for the approval and payment of expenditures, investment of funds and sale of investments.

(8) Specify notice required with respect to proposed bylaw amendments, including the time, place and date when the proposed amendments shall be considered.

(9) Be faithfully preserved, along with amendments thereto and the effective date of the amendments, in permanent form.

(10) Contain such other provisions as may, to the membership, seem appropriate or necessary to the orderly conduct of affairs of the association.

In addition to adopting bylaws, an association may adopt standing procedures, which shall be such matters as the membership may regard to be of a routine nature. Standing procedures may be adopted, modified or repealed by motion and majority vote but shall not be inconsistent with the bylaws, and they shall be recorded as an appendix to the bylaws.

A volunteer firefighters' relief association organized or conducted in accordance with the requirements of this section shall be regarded as a charitable corporation for all purposes, including the right to establish exemption from the operation of certain taxes.

A volunteer firefighters' relief association may solicit and receive gifts and contributions from any source, including municipal corporations, but shall not have the right to receive any portion of the money distributed to political subdivisions of this Commonwealth under Chapter 7 of the act of December 18, 1984 (P.L. 1005, No. 205), known as the Municipal Pension Plan Funding Standard and Recovery Act, unless and until the governing body of at least one political subdivision shall have certified to the Auditor General that the association is a bona fide volunteer firefighters' relief association, affiliated with a fire company which affords protection against fire to all or a portion of the political subdivision.

Funds of a volunteer firefighters' relief association may be deposited in any bank, trust company or other banking establishment accredited by the Commonwealth or insured by the Government of the United States.

All or any part of the funds of a volunteer firefighters' relief association may be invested:

(1) In any form of investment named in 20 Pa.C.S. Ch. 73 (relating to municipalities investments). First mortgages insuring repayment of loans by relief associations shall provide for a minimum interest payment of 3% and not exceed 80% of the appraised value of real property covered by the mortgage.

(2) In any obligation of a political subdivision, having the power to levy or collect taxes.

(3) In any obligation of an incorporated fire company, provided that the obligation is:

(i) Secured by assets of the company having capital value equal to at least 150% of the amount of the obligation at the time it is made.

(ii) Subject to provisions which amortize the loan at a rate ensuring that the depreciated value of the assets pledged shall continue to be at least 150% of the balance due.

No investment shall be acquired, encumbered or sold except pursuant to resolution duly enacted by the governing body of the association.

Income from investments may be invested or spent in the same way as any other income.

(1) To pay for such normal and reasonable running expenses as may be appropriate to the businesslike conduct of the affairs of the association, including legal fees, rental or purchase of offices, payment of reasonable compensation of employees and purchase of office equipment and supplies.

(2) To purchase contracts of insurance which, at a minimum, shall afford financial assistance to active members of the fire service represented by the association against losses due to injury suffered in the fire service and may also provide, in the order named:

(i) for payments to the surviving spouse or other dependents of a member in the event of the member's death;

(iii) for replacement or purchase of prosthetic devices such as visual aids, hearing aids, dentures, braces, crutches and the like, where those devices have been lost or damaged while the owner was engaged in the fire service or where the need for those devices arose because of functional impairment attributable to participation in the fire service;

(iv) for repair or replacement ,if necessary, of articles of clothing or pocket pagers damaged or lost in the course of participation in the fire service; and

(v) for disability incurred after service for a minimum of 20 years as a volunteer firefighter.

(3) To maintain a beneficiary or death benefit fund and to pay a sum certain from that fund to the beneficiary of a participant in that fund upon death. If a beneficiary is not designated or a designated one has predeceased the participant, the sum certain shall be paid to the estate of the participant.

(4) To pay in full or in part for damage or loss in any of the categories mentioned in paragraph (2) in a specific case where:

(ii) the amount payable under insurance policies in force is inadequate to cover the loss.

(5) To pay the cost of procuring and forwarding tokens of sympathy and goodwill to a volunteer firefighter who may be ill or hospitalized as a result of participation in the fire service or who may die or who may be seriously ill for any reason.

(6) To make cash payments to families in distressed circumstances by reason of age, infirmity or other disability suffered by one of the family members in the course of participation in the fire service as a volunteer firefighter.

(7) To acquire and to maintain membership in any Statewide association or corporation which extends advice and assistance to firefighters' relief associations and to pay to a duly elected delegate the reasonable expenses of travel and maintenance for attending a meeting of the Statewide association or corporation.

(8) To contribute to or to purchase contracts of insurance which will contribute to the cost of rehabilitating and retraining volunteer firefighters who, by reason of their participation in the fire service, have suffered a major impairment of the ability to continue their vocation.

(9) To pay for medical and surgical bills arising from injuries sustained by volunteer firefighters while engaged in activities of a fire company to the extent that the bills are not covered by insurance provided by the relief association.

(10) To pay reasonable expenses actually and necessarily incurred for attending bona fide firefighters' training schools.

(11) To purchase safeguards for preserving life, health and safety of volunteer firefighters to ensure their availability to participate in the volunteer fire service.

(12) To secure insurance against legal liability of volunteer firefighters for loss and expense from claims arising out of performance of official and authorized duties while going to, returning from or attending fires or performing their duties as special fire police.

(13) To maintain comprehensive health, physical fitness and physical monitoring programs that provide for physical fitness activities, nutrition education and instruction and health and fitness evaluation and monitoring, provided that the programs have been approved by the nearest State-licensed health care facility which is authorized to provide that service.

Act 118 of 2010 Chapter 74 Subchapter B