8 Pa.C.S. § 1187 – Provisional appointments

(a) General rule.— If there are urgent reasons for the filling of a vacancy in a position in the police force and there are no names on the eligibility list for the appointment, the council may nominate a person to the commission for noncompetitive examination, and, if the nominee shall be certified by the commission as qualified after noncompetitive examination, the nominee may be appointed provisionally to fill the vacancy.
(b) Competitive examination required.—
1. (1) Within three weeks of the provisional appointment, the commission shall hold a competitive examination and certify an eligibility list. A regular appointment shall then be made from the name or names submitted by the commission.
2. (2) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the appointment, without examination, of persons temporarily as police officers in cases of riot or other emergencies or as fire apparatus operators in emergency cases.