The fire department must provide specified safety gear and test certain equipment on a regular schedule; volunteer fire departments are excluded.
§1973. Regulation of the department; safety equipment A.(1)(a) The fire department shall furnish to all full-time paid fire protection personnel who engage in fire fighting protective clothing which complies with minimum standards promulgated by the National Fire Protection Association (N.F.P.A.) or its successor. (b) The term "protective clothing" shall mean garments including turnout coats, bunker coats, boots, gloves, trousers, and helmets worn by fire fighters in the course of performing fire fighting operations. (2) The fire department may furnish the protective equipment by providing and maintaining the prescribed protective clothing. B.(1) The fire department shall see to it that every self-contained breathing apparatus purchased by the department complies with the minimum approval and certification requirements of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health or its successor. (2) The department shall additionally provide for complete tests of all self-contained breathing apparatus utilized by the department at least once every ninety days. The tests shall conform with testing procedures recommended by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health or the American National Standards Institute, Inc. C. The department shall furnish the personnel who regularly engage in fire fighting with aerial ladders, fire pumpers, ground ladders, and fire hoses which meet the standards of the National Fire Protection Association or its successor and shall provide for the complete testing of this equipment at least once every year, according to N.F.P.A. standards. D. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to volunteer fire departments. Acts 1984, No. 895, §1, eff. July 20, 1984.