Fire Control Act

Fire Control Act [7 MIRC Ch 7] 7 MIRC Ch. 7 MARSHALL ISLANDS REVISED CODE 2004 TITLE 7 - PUBLIC HEALTH SAFETY AND WELFARE CHAPTER 7. FIRE CONTROL ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS Section §701. Short title §702. Fires to clear land; permission required. §703. Same; penalties An Act to provide for the control of fires used in the clearing of land in the Republic. [Section numbering style modified to conform to new format of the Code [Rev2003] Commencement: (Ed: No date in original) Source: TTC 1966 63 TTC 1970 COM P.L. 46-16 (1972) 63 TTC 1980 §701. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 'Fire Control Act'. §702. Fires to clear land; permission required. No fires to clear land, including the burning of stumps, logs, brush, dry grass or fallen timber, shall be started without the prior written permission of the Chief Secretary or his authorized representative. Whether authorized by permit or not, no fires shall be started during a heavy wind or without sufficient help present to control the same, and the fire shall be watched by the person setting it, or by his competent agents, until put out. [TTC 1966, §765:63 TTC 1970, § 451; 63 TTC 1980, §451, modified.] §703. Same; penalties. (1) A person who, without proper and valid authorization sets any fire in violation of the provisions of Section 1 of this Chapter, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall upon conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding $100, or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding one month, or both. (2) A person who, without proper and valid authorization: (a) willfully, maliciously, or negligently sets on fire or causes to be set on fire any woods, brush, prairies, grass, grain or stubble on any lands not owned, leased or controlled by him; (b) willfully, maliciously, or negligently allows a fire to escape from land owned, leased or controlled by him whereby any property of another is injured or destroyed; or (c) accidentally sets or causes to be set any fire on land not owned, leased or controlled by him or sets or causes to be set any fire on land owned, leased or controlled by him which spreads to the land of another, and allows such fire to escape from his control without using every effort to extinguish it, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall upon conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding $100, or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding six (6) months, or both. (3) Setting such fires or causing or permitting them to be set or allowing them to escape shall be prima facie proof of willfulness, malice, or negligence under this Chapter; provided, that nothing herein contained shall apply to a person who in good faith sets a backfire to check a fire already burning; provided further, that nothing in this Chapter shall be construed to prohibit the use of food, brush, grass, or other vegetable fuels in properly set and controlled cooking, heating or industrial fires. [TTC 1966, §766; 63 TTC 1970, §452; COM P. L. 4C 16, §1 (1972); 63 TTC 1980, §452, modified.] Note: Section 1 has been added to conform this Act to the format of this Revised Code. © 1998 University of the South Pacific