Chap. 505.—An ACT to amend and re-enact section 541 of the Code of Vir-
ginia, as amended by an act approved March 22, 1920, and sections 545,
546-a, 3991 and 4435 of the Code of Virginia, section 546-a of which was
added to the said Code by an act approved March 22, 1920, all of which
sections relate to fires and fire protection. [H B 125]

Approved March 25, 1926.

1. Beit enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That section
five hundred and forty-one of the Code of Virginia, as heretofore
amended, and sections five hundred and forty-five, five hundred and
forty-six-a, thirty-nine hundred and ninety-one and forty-four hun-
dred and thirty-five of the Code of Virginia, section five hundred and
forty-six-a of which was added to the said Code by an act approved
March twenty-second, nineteen hundred and twenty, be amended and
re-enacted so as to read as follows:

Section 541. Duties of forest wardens; enforcement of laws; action
in case of fires and payment of costs of suppression.—It shall be the
duty of the forest wardens to enforce all forest laws of this State; to
protect the State forests, and to see that all rules, regulations and laws
for the protection of the State forests are enforced; to report violations
of the forest laws to the State forester; to assist in apprehending and
convicting offenders, and to make an annual report to the State
forester as to forest conditions in their immediate neighborhood.
When any forest warden shall see or have reported to him a forest
fire, it shall be his duty immediately to repair to the scene of the fire
and employ such persons and means as in his judgment seem expedient
and necessary to extinguish said fire, within the limits of such expense
as he may have been authorized to incur in his instructions from the
State forester. He shall keep an itemized account of all expenses
thus incurred and send such account verified by affidavit immediately
to the State forester for his examination. Upon approval the State
forester shall send such accounts to the board of supervisors of the
county in which the fire occurred, and upon approval by them of the
correctness of such accounts it shall then be the duty of the board of
supervisors to issue warrants on the county treasurer for the payment
of such accounts.

Provided, that no such payment shall be made to the owner, or to
the lessee or tenant of such owner, of any land on which such fire is
fought or which is threatened by such fire; and

Provided, further, that wherever possible the State forester shall
collect the costs of fire fighting done under the direction of a forest
warden in accordance with the provisions of this section and approved
by the State forester, from the persons responsible for the origin of the
fire by his negligence or intent and shall return any costs so collected
to the treasury of the county in which the fire occurred, and the attor-
ney for the Commonwealth shall institute and prosecute the necessary
proceedings. Noaction for trespass shall lie against any forest warden
on account of lawful acts done in legal performance of his duty.

Section 545. Setting fire to clear land without taking specified
precautions; how punished.—It shall be unlawful for any person or
corporation, as landowner, to set or to procure another to set, fire to
any woods, brush, logs, leaves, grass, or clearing upon their own land,
unless they have previously taken all possible care and precaution
against the spread of such fire to other lands not their own, by prev-
iously having cut and piled the same, or carefully cleared around the
land which is to be burned, so as to prevent the spread of such fire.
It shall also be unlawful for any lessee, tenant or employee, to set fire
contrary to the provisions of this section, on any Jand which he may
lease or on which he may be employed.

Any person setting or procuring another to set fire without having
taken the precautions required in this section shall be fined not less
than ten nor more than one hundred dollars for each offense.

Section 546-a. Premises of certain mills to be cleaned; punish-
ment for failure—Any individual, firm, or corporation responsible for
the operation, in, through or near forest or brush land, of a sawmill,
stave mill, heading mill, or any other mill, shall clean the premises for
at least a distance of fifty yards in all directions from any fires main-
tained in or about, or in connection with the operation of said mill and
for distance of one hundred feet in all directions from any sawdust
pile, slab pile, or any other inflammable material which accumulates
from the operation of said mill, of all matters not essential to the
operation of said mill which is liable to take fire from any sparks
emitted from said fires. Any such person, firm or corporation, failing
to clean up the premises of said mill in the manner hereinbefore men-
tioned, shall be fined ten dollars for each day or fraction thereof on
which the provisions of this section are violated. Whenever it shall
be established that a forest fire originated from a fire maintained in or
about any such mill, the individual, firm, or corporation, from whose
mill any such fire originated shall immediately become liable for all
costs incurred in fighting said fire.

Section 3991. ° Manner in which right of way shall be kept.—
Every railroad company shall keep its right cf way clear and free from
weeds, grass, and decayed timber, which from their nature and condi-
tion, are combustible material, liable to take and communicate fire
from passing trains to abutting or adjacent property.

Section 4435. Setting woods, et cetera, on fire whereby another is
damaged, et cetera; how punished.—(a) Any person who intention-
ally sets or procures another to set fire to any woods, brush, leaves,
grass, straw, or any other inflammable substance capable of spreading
fre, and who intentionally allows the fire to escape to lands not his
own, whereby the property of another is damaged or jeopardized, shall
be fined not less than fifty nor more than five hundred dollars or be
confined in jail not less than one nor more than six months, and shall
be liable for the full amount of all expenses incurred in fighting the fire.

(b) If any person carelessly, negigently or intentionally set any
woods or marshes on fire, or set fire to any,stubble, brush, straw, or
any other substance capable of spreading fire on lands, whereby the
property of another is damaged or jeopardized, he shall be fined not
less than ten nor more than one hundred dollars for each offense, and
Spal be liable for the full amount of all expenses incurred in fighting
the fire.