COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 384
(By Senators Unger, Snyder, Stollings, Green and Barnes)
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[Originating in the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure; reported March 13, 2009.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §29-3A-1 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to authority to control an
emergency scene on state highways.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §29-3A-1 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3A. AUTHORITY OF LOCAL FIRE DEPARTMENTS.
§29-3A-1. Authority of fire officers in charge of fire, service
call or other emergency; definition.
While any fire department recognized or approved by the West
Virginia State Fire Commission is responding to, operating at or
returning from a fire, fire hazard, service call or other
emergency, the fire chief, any other elected or appointed fire line
officer or any member serving in the capacity of appointed fire
line officer in charge, except on industrial property where trained
industrial fire-fighting personnel are present, shall have the authority:
(1) Of controlling and directing firefighting and fire control
activities at such scene;
(2) To order any person or persons to leave any building or
place in the vicinity of such scene for the purpose of protecting
such persons from injury;
(3) To blockade any public highway, street or private
right-of-way temporarily while at such scene.
If the emergency
incident occurs on a public highway and it is reasonably expected
that the highway may be closed for a period of at least two hours
or upon the request of the incident commander acting in accordance
with the provisions of the National Incident Management System in
effect as of December 31, 2008, the Secretary of Transportation or
his or her designee(s) shall be notified of the incident as soon as
possible. The Secretary of Transportation or his or her
designee(s) may respond to the notification of the incident in
order to assist with the restoration of traffic flow or with the
development and implementation of a traffic diversion plan. All
authorized persons who respond to the scene of the emergency
incident and all of their available resources will become part of
the incident command system. All of those persons are to
collaborate and cooperate with the incident commander and
appropriate law-enforcement personnel at the emergency incident
scene in order to restore traffic flow as soon as possible after
the scene is deemed safe by the incident commander. Once the
incident commander has declared the emergency incident scene to be safe, the control of the traffic at the emergency incident scene
will be transferred to the Department of Transportation or the
appropriate law-enforcement agency.
(4) To enter the building, structure, enclosure or other
property of any person or persons at any time of the day or night,
without liability, while operating at such scene;
(5) To enter any building, including private dwellings, or
upon any premises where an emergency exists, or where there is
reasonable cause to believe an emergency exists, for the purpose of
eliminating the emergency;
(6) To enter any building, including private dwellings, or
premises near the scene of the emergency for the purpose of
protecting the building or premises or for the purpose of
eliminating the emergency which is in progress in another building
or premises;
(7) To inspect for preplanning all buildings, structures or
other places in their fire district, excepting, however, the
interior of a private dwelling, with the consent of the owner or
occupant, where any combustible materials, including waste paper,
rags, shavings, waste, leather, rubber, crates, boxes, barrels,
rubbish or other combustible material that is or may become
dangerous as a fire menace to such building or buildings, structure
or other places has been allowed to accumulate or where such chief
or his or her designated representative has reason to believe that
such material of a combustible nature has accumulated or is liable
to be accumulated;
(8) To direct the removal or destroying of any fence, house,
motor vehicle or other thing which may reasonably be determined to
be necessary to be pulled down, destroyed or removed to prevent the
further spread of the fire or hazardous condition;
(9) To request and be supplied with additional materials such
as sand, treatments, chemicals, etc., and special equipment when
dealing with an accident on a public highway or railroad
right-of-way when it is deemed a necessity to prevent the further
spread of the fire or hazardous condition, the cost of which to be
borne by the owner of the instrumentality which caused the fire or
hazardous condition;
(10) To order disengagement or discouplement of any convoy,
caravan or train of vehicles, craft or railway cars if deemed a
necessity in the interest of safety of persons or property; and
(11) As used in this article, the term "emergency" means a
situation in which the fire officer in charge knows or in which a
reasonable person would believe that there exists an imminent
threat of serious bodily harm or death to a person or significant
damage to property.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize the
Department of Transportation to take control of an emergency scene
on a highway consistent with the provisions of the National
Incident Management System.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.)