{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/27-56.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/27-56.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/27-56.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/27-56.html"}],"law_id":69427,"edition_id":1,"section_id":69427,"structure_id":15306,"section_number":"27-56","catch_line":"Department to examine into origin of fires; appointment of arson investigators","history":"Code 1919, \u00a7 4186; 1977, c. 613.","full_text":"The Department shall examine, or cause examination to be made, into the origin and circumstances of all fires occurring in this Commonwealth, which may be brought to its attention by official report, or otherwise, and for that purpose shall have authority to call for and demand of the chief or other head officer of the fire department, and the chief or other head officer of the police department, of any city or town, and the sheriff of any county, for any information or assistance it may require in making or furthering such examination.\n\t\tThe Department shall appoint a chief arson investigator and assistant arson investigators, who shall have the same police powers as a sheriff in the investigation and prosecution of all offenses involving fires, fire bombings, bombings, attempts, threats to commit such offense, false alarms relating to any such offense, possession and manufacture of explosive devices, substances and firebombs.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":251093,"text":"The Department shall examine, or cause examination to be made, into the origin and circumstances of all fires occurring in this Commonwealth, which may be brought to its attention by official report, or otherwise, and for that purpose shall have authority to call for and demand of the chief or other head officer of the fire department, and the chief or other head officer of the police department, of any city or town, and the sheriff of any county, for any information or assistance it may require in making or furthering such examination.\n\t\tThe Department shall appoint a chief arson investigator and assistant arson investigators, who shall have the same police powers as a sheriff in the investigation and prosecution of all offenses involving fires, fire bombings, bombings, attempts, threats to commit such offense, false alarms relating to any such offense, possession and manufacture of explosive devices, substances and firebombs.","type":"section","prefixes":[""],"prefix":"","entire_prefix":"","prefix_anchor":"","level":1}},"ancestry":[{"id":15306,"edition_id":1,"name":"General Provisions","identifier":"1","label":"article","depth":3,"order_by":1,"parent_id":13532,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:53:48","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:53:48","permalink":{"id":190361,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":15306,"identifier":"1","token":"27\/6\/1","url":"\/27\/6\/1\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":13532,"edition_id":1,"name":"Department of State Police; Public Building Safety Law; Arson Reporting Immunity Act","identifier":"6","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":13504,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:45:08","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:45:08","permalink":{"id":190359,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13532,"identifier":"6","token":"27\/6","url":"\/27\/6\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":13504,"edition_id":1,"name":"Fire Protection","identifier":"27","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:45:05","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:45:05","permalink":{"id":189965,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13504,"identifier":"27","token":"27","url":"\/27\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":80282,"structure_id":15306,"section_number":"27-55","catch_line":"Department of State Police or successor agency to keep record of fires and explosions; when open to public inspection","url":"\/27-55\/","token":"27\/6\/1\/27-55","metadata":false},{"id":69427,"structure_id":15306,"section_number":"27-56","catch_line":"Department to examine into origin of fires; appointment of arson investigators","url":"\/27-56\/","token":"27\/6\/1\/27-56","metadata":false},{"id":76444,"structure_id":15306,"section_number":"27-57","catch_line":"When insurance company to pay expenses of examination","url":"\/27-57\/","token":"27\/6\/1\/27-57","metadata":false},{"id":73787,"structure_id":15306,"section_number":"27-58","catch_line":"Right to examine buildings or premises","url":"\/27-58\/","token":"27\/6\/1\/27-58","metadata":false},{"id":58274,"structure_id":15306,"section_number":"27-59","catch_line":"Criminal prosecutions","url":"\/27-59\/","token":"27\/6\/1\/27-59","metadata":false},{"id":61418,"structure_id":15306,"section_number":"27-60","catch_line":"Department to conduct investigations in certain cases; investigations may be private","url":"\/27-60\/","token":"27\/6\/1\/27-60","metadata":false},{"id":71050,"structure_id":15306,"section_number":"27-61","catch_line":"When Department or fire chief may remedy inflammable or unsafe conditions","url":"\/27-61\/","token":"27\/6\/1\/27-61","metadata":false},{"id":60103,"structure_id":15306,"section_number":"27-62","catch_line":"Penalty on local officers for violating law","url":"\/27-62\/","token":"27\/6\/1\/27-62","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":80282,"structure_id":15306,"section_number":"27-55","catch_line":"Department of State Police or successor agency to keep record of fires and explosions; when open to public inspection","url":"\/27-55\/","token":"27\/6\/1\/27-55","metadata":false},"next_section":{"id":76444,"structure_id":15306,"section_number":"27-57","catch_line":"When insurance company to pay expenses of examination","url":"\/27-57\/","token":"27\/6\/1\/27-57","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/27-56\/","history_text":"

The record of this law\u2019s original creation isn\u2019t available online. It has been modified 1 time. Those modifications are cataloged by \u201cThe Acts of Assembly,\u201d a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly\u2019s website will be linked accordingly. That modification is as follows: in 1977, chapter 613.<\/p>","references":[{"id":70646,"section_number":"27-32.2","catch_line":"Issuance of fire investigation warrant","order_by":null,"url":"\/27-32.2\/"},{"id":73787,"section_number":"27-58","catch_line":"Right to examine buildings or premises","order_by":null,"url":"\/27-58\/"}],"refers_to":false,"permalink":{"id":190367,"object_type":"law","relational_id":69427,"identifier":"27-56","token":"27\/6\/1\/27-56","url":"\/27-56\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/27-56\/","token":"27\/6\/1\/27-56","dublin_core":{"Title":"Department to examine into origin of fires; appointment of arson investigators","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 27-56","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

The Department shall examine, or cause examination to be made, into the origin and circumstances of all fires occurring in this Commonwealth, which may be brought to its attention by official report, or otherwise, and for that purpose shall have authority to call for and demand of the chief or other head officer of the fire department, and the chief or other head officer of the police department, of any city or town, and the sheriff of any county, for any information or assistance it may require in making or furthering such examination.\n\t\tThe Department shall appoint a chief arson<\/span> investigator and assistant arson<\/span> investigators, who shall have the same police powers as a sheriff in the investigation and prosecution<\/span> of all offenses<\/span> involving fires, fire bombings, bombings, attempts, threats to commit such offense<\/span>, false alarms relating to any such offense<\/span>, possession<\/span> and manufacture of explosive devices, substances and firebombs.<\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nDEPARTMENT TO EXAMINE INTO ORIGIN OF FIRES; APPOINTMENT OF ARSON INVESTIGATORS\n(\u00a7 27-56)\n\nThe Department shall examine, or cause examination to be made, into the origin\nand circumstances of all fires occurring in this Commonwealth, which may be\nbrought to its attention by official report, or otherwise, and for that purpose\nshall have authority to call for and demand of the chief or other head officer\nof the fire department, and the chief or other head officer of the police\ndepartment, of any city or town, and the sheriff of any county, for any\ninformation or assistance it may require in making or furthering such\nexamination.\n\t\tThe Department shall appoint a chief arson investigator and assistant arson\ninvestigators, who shall have the same police powers as a sheriff in the\ninvestigation and prosecution of all offenses involving fires, fire bombings,\nbombings, attempts, threats to commit such offense, false alarms relating to any\nsuch offense, possession and manufacture of explosive devices, substances and\nfirebombs.\n\nHISTORY: Code 1919, \u00a7 4186; 1977, c. 613.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}