DEFINITIONS.

In this subchapter:

(1) "Aircraft rescue and fire protection personnel" means permanent, full-time local governmental employees who, as a permanent duty assignment, fight aircraft fires at airports, stand by for potential crash landings, and perform aircraft crash rescue.

(2) "Fire department" means a department of a local government that is staffed by permanent, full-time employees of the local government and that is organized to prevent or suppress fires.

(3) "Fire protection personnel" means:

(A) permanent, full-time law enforcement officers designated as fire and arson investigators by an appropriate local authority;

(B) aircraft rescue and fire protection personnel; or

(C) permanent, full-time fire department employees who are not secretaries, stenographers, clerks, budget analysts, or similar support staff persons or other administrative employees and who are assigned duties in one or more of the following categories:

(i) fire suppression;

(ii) fire inspection;

(iii) fire and arson investigation;

(iv) marine fire fighting;

(v) aircraft rescue and fire fighting;

(vi) fire training;

(vii) fire education;

(viii) fire administration; and

(ix) any other position necessarily or customarily related to fire prevention or suppression.

(4) "Local government" means a municipality, a county, a special-purpose district or authority, or any other political subdivision of the state.

(5) "Marine fire protection personnel" means permanent, full-time local governmental employees who work aboard a fireboat and fight fires that occur on or adjacent to a waterway, waterfront, channel, or turning basin.

(6) "Protective clothing" means garments, including turnout coats, bunker coats, bunker pants, boots, gloves, trousers, helmets, and protective hoods, worn by fire protection personnel in the course of performing fire-fighting operations, including wildland fire suppression.

(7) "Structure fire protection personnel" means permanent, full-time local government employees who engage in fire-fighting activities involving structures and may perform other emergency activities typically associated with fire-fighting duties such as rescue, emergency medical response, confined space rescue, hazardous materials response, and wildland fire-fighting.