1. All county employees must be paid their salaries as fixed by law, ordinance or resolution without diminution on account of any time spent away from county employment while acting as:
(a) Volunteer firefighters of any regular organized and recognized fire department in the protection of life or property; or
(b) Volunteer ambulance drivers or attendants,
Ê during working hours or fractions thereof which should otherwise have been devoted to county employment.
2. As used in this section, “volunteer ambulance driver or attendant” means a person who is a driver of or attendant on an ambulance owned or operated by:
(a) A nonprofit organization that provides volunteer ambulance service in any county, city or town in this State; or
(b) A political subdivision of this State.