§ 45-19-12.1 - Tuition to children of deceased or disabled fire fighters.
SECTION 45-19-12.1
§ 45-19-12.1 Tuition to children ofdeceased or disabled fire fighters. – (a) If an active member of the fire force of a city or town or crash rescuecrew persons of the state of Rhode Island is killed or dies or becomes totallyand permanently disabled from injuries received while in the performance of hisor her duty as a member, or dies of a performance related heart condition, ordies of performance related respiratory ailments, or dies of any conditionsderived from performance related hypertension, there shall be paid, out of thegeneral fund of the state of Rhode Island, the charges for the tuition ofchildren of the deceased or totally and permanently disabled fire fighters. Thebenefits shall be extended to the children who are attending or may attend theUniversity of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College, or any other college oruniversity operated by the state; provided, that the child has entered theinstitution while between the ages of sixteen (16) and twenty-one (21); andprovided, further, that the aid granted in this section is available to thechild for a period of time that equals the normal time for completing thecourses regularly offered by the institution, but in no case more than four (4)years.
(b) For the purposes of this section, the words "members offire force" mean and include any member of a fire force or crash rescue crewpersons of any city or town regularly employed at a fixed salary or wage; thisincludes auxiliary and volunteer fire fighters and crash rescue crew persons ofany city, town, or state fire fighting department.