§ 40.1-79.1 Exemptions from chapter generally; participation in volunteer fire company activities
A. Any county, city or town may authorize by ordinance any person residing anywhere in the Commonwealth, aged 16 years or older, who is a member of a volunteer fire company within such county, city, or town with parental or guardian approval, (i) to seek certification under National Fire Protection Association 1001, level one, firefighter standards, as administered by the Department of Fire Programs; and (ii) to work with or participate in activities of such volunteer fire company, provided such person has attained certification under National Fire Protection Association 1001, level one, firefighter standards, as administered by the Department of Fire Programs. Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit participation by such persons in nonhazardous activities of a volunteer fire company, including fire prevention efforts and training courses approved by the Virginia Fire Services Board that are designed to provide situational awareness. Such ordinance shall not require a minor who achieved certification under National Fire Protection Association 1001, level one, firefighter standards, as administered by the Department of Fire Programs, on or before January 1, 2006, between the ages of 15 and 16, to repeat the certification after his sixteenth birthday.
B. Any trainer or instructor of such persons mentioned in subsection A and any member of a paid or volunteer fire company who supervises any such persons shall be exempt from the provisions of § 40.1-103, provided that the provisions of § 40.1-100 have not been violated, when engaged in activities of a volunteer fire company, and provided that the volunteer fire company or the governing body of such county, city or town has purchased insurance which provides coverage for injuries to or the death of such persons in their performance of activities under this section.
History
This law was first created in 1982. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 344 of that year’s edition of “Acts of Assembly,” the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year. Unfortunately, the 1982 “Acts” aren’t available online. It has been modified 5 times. Those modifications are cataloged by “The Acts of Assembly,” a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly’s website will be linked accordingly. Those modifications are as follows: in 1983, chapter 123; in 1991, chapter 511; in 2005, chapter 151; in 2006, chapter 462; in 2018, chapter 181.
1982, c. 344; 1983, c. 123; 1991, c. 511; 2005, c. 151; 2006, c. 462; 2018, c. 181.