Washington State

Office of the Attorney General

Attorney General

Bob Ferguson

AGO 1953 NO. 183 >

Monthly pension to surviving dependents of volunteer firemen under RCW 41.24.160 can be paid from fund established by RCW 41.24.030 only to extent necessary to maintain $100 monthly income in conjunction with any benefits such dependents may receive under Federal old-age and survivors insurance program (OASI).

AGO 1954 NO. 270 >

1.  The failure of a fire protection district to enroll a fireman under the provisions of chapter 41.24 RCW does not preclude such fireman from receiving medical benefits under that chapter. 2.  The requirements that a volunteer fire department be regularly organized, and that it be operated and maintained by a municipal corporation, in order to be within the coverage of the pension and relief provisions of chapter 41.24 RCW, are met if the fire department is a functioning fire‑fighting unit, if it is recognized by the officers of the fire protection district as having a part in the fire protection scheme of the district, and if it shares in the funds of the district. 3.  A fire protection district is not liable to a volunteer fireman for the amount of medical expenses incurred by such fireman due to injuries sustained in the course of his duties as a fireman.

AGO 1950 NO. 403 >

Volunteer firemen responding to a call into another state are under the protection of the Volunteer Firemen's Relief and Pension Act.

AGO 1953 NO. 493 >

A plan whereby a city of the third class compensates its volunteer firemen at the end of the budget period by dividing the unexpended surplus remaining in the fire department fund among the firemen on the basis of a point system is valid.