N.Y. VOL Law § 4

§ 4. Removal of civil liability barriers. 1. (a) Liability protection.\n (1) A fire company or political subdivision, including a person acting\nas an agent thereof, that acts reasonably in donating qualified fire\ncontrol or fire rescue equipment to a volunteer fire company shall not\nbe liable in civil damages under any state law for personal injuries,\nproperty damage, or death proximately caused after the donation by a\ndefect in the equipment.\n (2) Any state or local agency, including a person acting as an agent\nof such an agency, that acts reasonably in administering the\ndistribution of qualified fire control or fire rescue equipment to a\nvolunteer fire company or political subdivision shall not be liable for\ncivil damages under any state law for personal injuries, property\ndamage, or death proximately caused after the distribution by a defect\nin the equipment.\n (b) Exceptions to liability protection. Paragraph (a) of this\nsubdivision shall not apply to a person or agency if:\n (1) the defect that proximately causes the injury, damage, or loss\nresulted from an act or omission of the person or agency, that\nconstitutes malice, gross negligence, recklessness, or intentional\nmisconduct;\n (2) the person or agency is the manufacturer of the qualified fire\ncontrol or fire rescue equipment; or\n (3) the person or agency modified or altered the equipment after it\nhad been recertified by an authorized technician as meeting the\nmanufacturer's specifications.\n 2. For the purposes of this section the following words and phrases\nshall have the following meanings:\n (a) "Person" means any individual and any governmental or other\nentity.\n (b) "Qualified fire control or rescue equipment" means fire control or\nfire rescue equipment that has been recertified by an authorized\ntechnician as meeting the manufacturer's specifications and has been\ndistributed through a state or local agency to the volunteer fire\ncompany.\n (c) "Authorized technician" means a technician that has been certified\nby the manufacturer of fire control or fire rescue equipment to inspect\nsuch equipment. The technician need not be employed by the state or\nlocal agency administering the distribution of the fire control or fire\nrescue equipment.\n