§ 52. Fire Department: Board of Fire Commissioners – Retirement of employees.

As to employees not covered by the Employees' Retirement System or the Fire and Police Employees' Retirement System of the City, the Board may retire from office in the Department any permanent or call member thereof who has become permanently disabled, while in the actual performance of duties, from risks taken in the performance of those duties and not due to any wilful misconduct on the member's part, or who has performed faithful service in the Department for a period of not less than twenty consecutive years, or who may become unable to perform further service by reason of age or other physical or mental disabilities, and place the member so retired upon a pension roll. The amount of such annual pension to be allowed by the Board to each pensioner shall be equal to one-half the yearly salary received by members of the Department in active service in the same grade or occupying the same position as, or position most similar to, that occupied by the pensioner at the time of his retirement, payable in monthly installments. The Board may also provide for the relief of widows and children of members of the Department who may have been killed in the discharge of their duties or have died as a result of injuries sustained in the performance of their duties, provided that the injuries were caused solely by risks taken in the performance of their duties and not due to the wilful misconduct of the deceased.

The annual amount which shall be paid to the widows and/or to the children under the age of 18 years, of members of the Department who may have been killed in the discharge of their duties or have died as a result of injuries sustained in the performance of their duties shall be in the discretion of the Board, but shall not exceed the full amount of the yearly salary received by members of the Department in active service in the same grade and occupying the same position as, or position most similar to, that occupied by the deceased at the time of his death, payable in monthly installments.

The Board may also provide for the relief of unremarried widows, by marriages existing at the time of retirement or death, of employees of the Department who are not members of the Employees' Retirement System or the Fire and Police Employees' Retirement System who die, whether death occurs before or after their retirement, subject to the Ordinance of Estimates. The annual amount which shall be paid to such widow of such a deceased member shall not exceed fifty per centum (50%) of the yearly pension to which such deceased member would have been entitled to receive had that member lived and been retired under the provisions of this section.

The City Council may provide by ordinance a system of benefits payable to the unremarried widows and children under age 18 of persons who were employees or retired employees of the Department who were not members of the Employees' Retirement System or the Fire and Police Employees' Retirement System and who died or retired prior to June 7, 1963, subject to such exceptions, conditions, restrictions and classifications as may be provided therein.