(a) Absorption of certain firefighters.--Notwithstanding the provisions of the act of May 23, 1907 (P.L. 206, No. 167),¹ entitled “An act to regulate and improve the civil service of the cities of the second class in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; making violations of its provisions to be misdemeanors, and providing penalties for violations thereof,” and the act of June 27, 1939 (P.L. 1207, No. 405),² entitled, as amended, “An act regulating the appointment, promotion, suspension, reduction, removal, and reinstatement of employes (except chiefs and chief clerks) in bureaus of fire and fire alarm operators and fire box inspectors in bureaus of electricity, in cities of the second class; defining the powers and duties of Civil Service Commissions for such purpose in said cities; and repealing inconsistent legislation,” in the case of an original appointment of a full-time firefighter in a borough with a population between 18,000 and 19,500 according to the 2000 census that is located in a county of the second class and is contiguous with a city of the second class, when the full-time firefighter is absorbed by appointment into the classified service in the bureau of fire of a city of a second class under an intergovernmental cooperation agreement for fire protective services, the full-time firefighter shall be:

(b) Eligible lists and appointments.--Under this section only, the civil service commission of the city of the second class shall not be required to generate eligible lists or indicate appointment thereon, and no individual who is on an existing eligibility list for original appointment into the classified service of the bureau of fire of a city of a second class shall have a right to be appointed until the eligible full-time firefighters of the borough are appointed under the intergovernmental cooperation agreement.