53 Pa. Stat. § 23494
Reinstatements as employes in said bureaus of fire and as fire alarm operators and fire alarm box inspectors in said bureaus of electricity may be made without any restriction or restrictions as to time. No examination other than a physical examination, as directed by the Civil Service Commission, shall be required in any case of reinstatement. Any person so reinstated shall be the lowest in rank in the bureau in which he shall be reinstated, next above the probationers in such bureau.
No person employed in a competitive position in any bureau of fire or as a fire alarm operator or as a fire alarm box inspector in any bureau of electricity, in any city of the second class, shall be eligible for promotion from a lower grade to a higher grade until such person shall have completed at least two years' service in said lower grade.
53 P.S. § 23494