§ 177-b. Powers and duties of deputy fire district treasurers. The board of fire commissioners of any fire district may appoint a deputy fire district treasurer to hold office until the thirty-first day of December next succeeding his appointment. During the absence or inability to act of the fire district treasurer, or while the office of fire district treasurer is vacant, the deputy fire district treasurer shall be vested with all of the powers and may perform all of the duties of the fire district treasurer under this chapter or any other law, including the provisions of subdivision four of section one hundred seventy-six of this chapter relating to the giving and filing of an official undertaking. The fire district treasurer shall not be liable for the acts of a deputy fire district treasurer.