§ 58-87-5. Volunteer Rescue/EMS Fund.
§ 58‑87‑5. Volunteer Rescue/EMS Fund.
(a) There is created inthe Department of Insurance the Volunteer Rescue/EMS Fund to provide grants tovolunteer rescue units providing rescue or rescue and emergency medicalservices to purchase equipment and make capital improvements. An eligiblerescue or rescue/EMS unit may apply to the Department of Insurance for a grantunder this section. The application form and criteria for grants shall beestablished by the Department. The North Carolina Association of Rescue andEmergency Medical Services, Inc., shall provide the Department with an advisorypriority listing for rescue equipment eligible for funding, and the Departmentof Health and Human Services shall provide the Department with an advisorypriority listing of EMS equipment eligible for funding. The State Treasurershall invest the Fund's assets according to law, and the earnings shall remainin the Fund. On December 15 of each year, the Department shall make grants toeligible rescue or rescue/EMS units subject to all of the followinglimitations:
(1) A grant to anapplicant who is required to match the grant with non‑State funds may notexceed twenty‑five thousand dollars ($25,000), and a grant to anapplicant who is not required to match the grant with non‑State funds maynot exceed three thousand dollars ($3,000).
(2) An applicant whoseliquid assets, when combined with the liquid assets of any corporate affiliateor subsidiary of the applicant, are more than one thousand dollars ($1,000)shall match the grant on a dollar‑for‑dollar basis with non‑Statefunds.
(3) The grant may beused only for equipment purchases or capital expenditures.
(4) An applicant mayreceive no more than one grant per fiscal year.
In awarding grants under thissection, the Department shall to the extent possible select applicants from allparts of the State based upon need. Up to two percent (2%) of the Fund may beused for additional staff and resources to administer the Fund in each fiscalyear. In addition, notwithstanding G.S. 58‑78‑20, up to fourpercent (4%) of the Fund may be used for additional staff and resources for theNorth Carolina Fire and Rescue Commission.
(b) A rescue, emergencymedical services, or rescue/EMS unit is eligible for a grant under this sectionif it meets all of the following conditions:
(1) Repealed by SessionLaws 1989 (Regular Session, 1990), c. 1066, s. 33(a).
(2) It consists entirelyof volunteer members, with the exception that the unit may have paid members tofill the equivalent of 10 full‑time paid positions.
(3) It has beenrecognized by the Department as an organization that provides rescue, emergencymedical services, or rescue and emergency medical services. A unit thatprovides emergency medical services only is eligible for grant funding onlyafter all those eligible rescue or rescue and emergency medical services unitsthat are approved have been funded each grant year. A unit that only providesemergency medical services may be funded up to the level of emergency medicalservices that the unit is approved to provide by the authority havingjurisdiction.
(4) It satisfies theeligibility criteria established by the Department under subsection (a) of thissection.
(c) For the purpose ofthis section and Article 88 of this Chapter, "rescue" means theremoval of individuals facing external, nonmedical, and nonpatient relatedperil to areas of relative safety. A "rescue unit" or "rescuesquad" means a group of individuals who are not necessarily trained inemergency medical services, fire fighting, or law enforcement, but who exposethemselves to an external, nonmedical, and nonpatient related peril to effectthe removal of individuals facing the same type of peril to areas of relativesafety. The unit or squad must comply with existing State statutes and witheligibility criteria established by the North Carolina Association of Rescueand Emergency Medical Services, Inc. (1987 (Reg. Sess., 1988), c. 1062, s. 2; 1989, c. 115;c. 534, s. 2; 1989 (Reg. Sess., 1990), c. 1066, s. 33(a); 1991 (Reg. Sess.,1992), c. 943, s. 2; 1995, c. 507, s. 7.21A(l); 1997‑443, s. 11A.20; 1998‑212,s. 25(b); 1999‑319, s. 2; 2005‑283, s. 1.)