FIRE POLICE ACT
Fire Police Act - Title 35 - Section 1201. Nomination and confirmation; powers
Fire Police Act - Title 35 - Section 1202. Powers in another city, borough, town or township
Fire Police Act - Title 35 - Section 1203. Badge; control
Fire Police Act
An Act relating to Special Fire Police, June 18,1941, P.L. 137,
Amended by Act 122 of 1980
Title 35, Health and Safety
§ 1201. Nomination and confirmation; powers.
Any volunteer fire company in any city, borough, town, township or home rule
municipality may nominate any of its members as special fire police. All
special fire police so nominated shall, before they enter upon their duties as
such, be confirmed by the mayor of the city, the mayor of the borough or town,
the chairman of the board of commissioners or supervisors of the township, or
the chief executive officer of a home rule municipality, as the case may be.
When so confirmed and sworn and displaying a badge of authority they shall
have full power to regulate traffic and keep crowds under control at or in the
vicinity of any fire on which their companies are in attendance and to exercise
such other police powers as are necessary in order to facilitate and prevent
interference with the work of firemen in extinguishing fires and, in addition,
shall have the police powers necessary to perform their duties when functioning
as special fire police at any function, event, or parade conducted by, and
under the auspices of, any volunteer fire company, or any other event, function,
or parade conducted by an organization other than a volunteer fire company,
providing the request to perform these duties is made by the governing body
of the city, borough, town, township, or home rule municipality, in which the
event will be conducted, or when accidents, floods or any other emergencies
require performance of such traffic-control and crowd control duties. Such
duties may be performed without prior request from the governing body until
the arrival of proper State, city, borough, town, township or home rule
municipality, police authority and thereafter subject to direction of such
police authority until the emergency no longer exists. A person functioning
as special fire police, and performing a duty under any of the above
conditions, shall be deemed to be performing the duties of his employment.
Fire police performing such duties shall be identifiable by, at minimum, the
wearing of a distinctive arm band or hat or uniform or insignia. Under no
circumstances shall this act be construed to grant special fire police the
right and/or power to use firearms or other weapons in the exercise of special
fire police powers granted hereunder.
Back to the top
§ 1202. Powers in another city, borough, town or township.
Whenever any volunteer
fire company is in attendance on a fire, or when such special fire police are
on special duty as hereinbefore provided, such special fire police in any city,
borough, town or township other than the one in which such fire company is
organized shall have the same power and authority in such other city, borough,
town or township as they would have in that by which they were appointed.
Back to the top
§ 1203. Badge; control.
All special fire police
when on duty shall display a badge of authority and shall be subject to the
control of the chief of police, if any, of the city, borough, town or township
in which they are serving, or, if none, of a member of the Pennsylvania State
Police.
Back to the top
