SPIRO T. AGNEW, Governor                         953

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland,
That new Sections 37 through 41, inclusive, be and they are hereby
added to Article 38A of the Annotated Code of Maryland (1965 Re-
placement Volume), title "Fires and Investigations" to follow imme-
diately after Section 36 thereof and to be under the new subtitle
"Mutual Aid Agreements by Fire Companies," to read as follows:

MUTUAL AID AGREEMENTS BY FIRE COMPANIES
37.

The Board of Fire Commissioners of any fire department, or gov-
ernmental subdivision, or any fire department, fire company or rescue
squad through its authorized agents, are hereby authorized, in their
discretion, to enter into or renew reciprocal agreements for such
periods as they deem advisable with any adjacent fire company or
county, or both, and with the District of Columbia, the States of
Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware or adjacent coun-
ties, or both, or fire departments or governmental units therein, in
order to establish and carry into effect a plan to provide mutual aid
through the furnishing of fire fighting or rescue personnel or both
and equipment by and for the District of Columbia, and such coun-
ties, cities, states or departments for the extinguishing of fires and
the preservation of life and property in the District of Columbia
and in such counties, cities or states. No fire department, rescue
squad, fire company or Board of Fire Commissioners in this State
shall enter into any such agreement unless the agreement provides
that each of the parties to such agreement shall: (1) waive any and
all claims against all the other parties thereto which may arise
out of their activities outside their respective jurisdictions under
such agreement; (2) indemnify and save harmless the other parties
to such agreement from all claims by third parties for property
damage or personal injury which may arise out of the activities of
the other parties to such agreement outside their respective juris-
dictions under such agreement.

Any Board of Fire Commissioners, fire company, rescue squad,
governmental subdivision, or fire department, acting through au-
thorized agents, are hereby authorized, in their discretion, to enter
into appropriate agreements to make available to the Federal Gov-
ernment, personnel and equipment of the various fire or rescue com-
panies concerned, to extinguish fires and save lives on the property
of the Federal Government provided that nothing herein contained
shall require any fire companies, rescue squad or Board of Fire Com-
missioners or fire department, or Governmental subdivision, to enter
into such agreements, and provided further that these agreements
shall be subject to the indemnities provided in Section 37 of this
Article.

39.

For the purposes of any Workmen's Compensation or other law
or benefit which would accrue to personnel, paid or volunteer, who are
performing any service anywhere for a fire department or rescue
squad of this State, or elsewhere, under any mutual aid agreement,
said personnel shall be held and considered to have performed that

38.