As used in this Article:
(1) "Firefighter" means an employee of the North Carolina Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services who engages in fire suppression duties or engages in emergency response duties pursuant to G.S. 166A-19.77.
(2) "Fire suppression duties" means involvement in on-site fire suppression, participation in Incident Management Team while it is mobilized, Operations Room duty during on-going fires or when required by high readiness plans, mop-up activities to secure fire sites, scouting and detecting forest fires, performance of standby duty, and any other activity that directly contributes to the detection, response to, and control of fires. (1985, c. 757, s. 160(a); 1989, c. 727, s. 218(54); 1997-443, s. 11A.119(a); 2005-386, s. 1.6; 2011-145, s. 13.25(y), (z); 2013-155, s. 14.)