Can a volunteer firefighter belong to two different fire companies at once if one of them only does ambulance work?

Plain-English summary

The Amagansett Fire District asked whether one volunteer could belong to both a volunteer fire company and a volunteer ambulance company within the same department. The AG said no.

Town Law § 176-b(10) reads: "A person shall not be eligible to volunteer membership in more than one fire company at one time." The AG read that sentence as written. It does not distinguish between fire companies that do firefighting and those that do ambulance work. Town Law § 176(13) and General Municipal Law § 209-b(1)(a) make clear that volunteer fire companies can include rescue and first-aid squads, and a 1986 AG opinion (1986 Op Atty Gen (Inf) 120) had already applied the parallel village-fire provision to bar a dual membership where the second company would have done rescue work.

There is a workaround, but a narrow one. General Municipal Law § 209-i(1-a) permits a volunteer firefighter who lives or works in the area served by another company or department to volunteer on an ongoing basis to assist with firefighting or ambulance services. Once that assisting company accepts the volunteer's services, the volunteer is entitled to the full powers, rights, privileges, and immunities of a volunteer firefighter while rendering those services. The AG drew the line: the volunteer can assist, but cannot be a "member" of the second company.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1999. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

What is the practical difference between "membership" and "assisting"?

Membership confers permanent status, with voting rights in the company, eligibility to be elected to office in the company, and inclusion in benefit programs like the volunteer firefighter benefit law (VFBL) coverage through that specific company. Assisting under General Municipal Law § 209-i(1-a) gives the volunteer the protections and immunities while actually responding, but does not confer membership rights in the assisting company.

Why did the Legislature draw this line?

The statute does not spell out its policy, but a few reasonable readings exist: avoiding conflicts about which company controls the volunteer's time, preventing benefit duplication, and keeping the chain of command clear when multiple companies respond to the same incident.

Can a firefighter belong to one fire company and also be a member of an unrelated EMS agency (like a hospital-affiliated paramedic service)?

The opinion does not address this. Town Law § 176-b(10) speaks to "fire companies" under the Town Law structure. A non-fire-company EMS organization is a different statutory creature and would be analyzed separately.

What if a single fire company expands to include an ambulance squad?

That is permitted. Town Law § 176(13) and General Municipal Law § 209-b expressly allow a volunteer fire company to include rescue or first-aid squads as part of its own operations. The bar in § 176-b(10) is on belonging to two different companies at once, not on a single company doing both functions.

Does a member who quits one company have to wait to join another?

The opinion does not address timing. The statute speaks to membership "at one time," which suggests the bar lifts when membership in the first company ends. Local fire-district bylaws may impose other requirements.

Background and statutory framework

Town Law § 176 governs town fire districts. Subdivision 13 confirms that volunteer fire companies may include emergency and rescue squads. Subdivision 22 and related provisions deal with bylaws, governance, and disbanding companies. Town Law § 176-b is the membership statute for volunteer fire companies in fire districts. Subdivision 10 contains the dual-membership ban that drives this opinion.

General Municipal Law § 209-i addresses mutual aid and the authority of a volunteer firefighter to render assistance outside the firefighter's own company. Subdivision (1-a) is the specific authority for assisting another company or department in firefighting or ambulance services.

The 1986 AG opinion the AG relied on (1986 Op Atty Gen (Inf) 120) applied the parallel ban in the Village Law's fire department provisions. Both villages and town fire districts have the same fundamental rule: one fire company at a time.

Citations

• Town Law § 176 (volunteer fire companies, scope of services).
• Town Law § 176-b(10) (dual-membership ban).
• General Municipal Law § 209-i(1-a) (volunteer may assist another company).
• 1986 Op Atty Gen (Inf) 120 (parallel village-fire ban).

Source

• Landing page: https://ag.ny.gov/libraries-documents/opinions/opinions-year
• Original PDF: https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/opinions/I_99-2_pw.pdf

Original opinion text

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Page 1 of 2

Opn. 99-02
TOWN LAW §§ 176, 176-b(10); GENERAL MUNICIPAL LAW § 209-i(1-a).
Town Law § 176-b(10) prohibits a person from becoming a member of more than one fire company,
whether he or she performs firefighting or emergency and general ambulance services. A member of one
company may assist another company or department in the provision of emergency and general
ambulance services.
January 19, 1999
John P. Courtney, Esq.
Amagansett Fire District
P.O. Box 720
249 Main Street
Amagansett, New York 11930

Informal Opinion
No. 99-2

Dear Mr. Courtney:
You have requested an opinion regarding whether Town Law § 176-b(10) prohibits membership
in both a volunteer fire company and a volunteer ambulance company within the same department.
Town Law § 176-b(10) provides that "[a] person shall not be eligible to volunteer membership in
more than one fire company at one time." This provision does not distinguish between types of fire
companies. Volunteer fire companies may include emergency rescue and first aid squads. Town Law §
176(13); General Municipal Law § 209-b(1)(a). In construing a parallel provision governing village fire
departments, we concluded that a volunteer firefighter of a fire company is ineligible to become a
member of another village fire company in which he would provide rescue squad services. 1986 Op Atty
Gen (Inf) 120.
Although a person may not become a member of two fire companies, a volunteer firefighter who,
because of his residence or usual occupation, is regularly in the area served by a volunteer fire company
or department of which he is not a member may volunteer his services on an on-going basis to the
officer in command of the company or department for the purpose of assisting at a fire or in the
provision of general or emergency ambulance services. General Municipal Law § 209-i(1-a). Once the
volunteer's services are accepted, he is entitled to all powers, rights, privileges and immunities granted
by law to volunteer firefighters during the time such services are rendered. Id. Therefore, while Town
Law § 176-b(10) prohibits a person from becoming a member of more than one fire company, he is not
prohibited from assisting another fire company or department in the provision of general or emergency
ambulance services.
The Attorney General renders formal opinions only to officers and departments of State
government. This perforce is an informal and unofficial expression of the views of this office.
Very truly yours,
YVONNE M. HOVE
Assistant Attorney General

http://www.oag.state.ny.us/lawyers/opinions/1999/informal/99_02.html

4/20/2006