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2017 SESSION
17101194DBe it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 27-15.1 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 27-15.1. Authority of chief or other officer in charge when answering alarm; penalty for refusal to obey orders.
While any fire department or fire company is in the process of
answering an alarm where there is imminent danger or the actual occurrence of
fire or explosion or the uncontrolled release of hazardous materials that
threaten life or property and returning to the station, the chief or other
officer in charge of such fire department or fire company at that time shall
have the authority to (i) maintain order at such emergency incident or its
vicinity; (ii) direct the actions of the firefighters at the incident; (iii)
notwithstanding the provisions of §§ 46.2-888 through 46.2-891, keep bystanders
or other persons at a safe distance from the incident and emergency equipment;
(iv) facilitate the speedy movement and operation of emergency equipment and
firefighters; (v) cause an investigation to be made into the origin and cause
of the incident; and (vi) until the arrival of a police officer, direct
and control traffic in person or by deputy and facilitate the movement of
traffic; and (vii) ban or restrict the use of privately owned unmanned
aircraft systems, as defined in § 19.2-60.1, at the incident or its vicinity.
The fire chief or other officer in charge shall display his firefighter's badge
or other proper means of identification. Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, this authority shall extend to the activation of traffic control signals
designed to facilitate the safe egress and ingress of emergency equipment at a
fire station. Any person or persons refusing to obey the orders of the chief or
other officer in charge at that time is guilty of a Class 4 misdemeanor. The
chief or other officer in charge shall have the power to make arrests for
violation of the provisions of this section. The authority granted under the provisions
of this section may not be exercised to inhibit or obstruct members of
law-enforcement agencies or emergency medical services agencies from performing
their normal duties when operating at such emergency incident, nor to conflict
with or diminish the lawful authority, duties, and responsibilities of forest
wardens, including but not limited to the provisions of Chapter 11 (§ 10.1-1100
et seq.) of Title 10.1. Personnel from the news media, such as the press,
radio, and television, when gathering the news may enter at their own risk into
the incident area only when the officer in charge has deemed the area safe and
only into those areas of the incident that do not, in the opinion of the
officer in charge, interfere with the fire department or fire company,
firefighters, or emergency medical services personnel dealing with such
emergencies, in which case the chief or other officer in charge may order such
person from the scene of the emergency incident. A public safety agency or
an employee of a public safety agency shall not be liable for any damage to a
privately owned unmanned aircraft system caused by the public safety agency or
the employee during a ban on or restriction of the use of such unmanned
aircraft system at the incident or its vicinity as provided in this section.