{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/27-61.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/27-61.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/27-61.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/27-61.html"}],"law_id":71050,"edition_id":1,"section_id":71050,"structure_id":15306,"section_number":"27-61","catch_line":"When Department or fire chief may remedy inflammable or unsafe conditions","history":"Code 1919, \u00a7 4190; 1936, p. 776; 1977, c. 613; 1988, c. 199; 2007, cc. 647, 741.","full_text":"The Department of Fire Programs, by its representative, or the chief or other head of the fire department of any county, city or town or district thereof, shall have the right, at all reasonable hours, for the purpose of examination, to enter into and upon any public school building or any other building or premises not at the time occupied and used as a dwelling house, within their respective jurisdictions, for examination as to combustible materials or inflammable or unsafe conditions in any such building or upon any such premises. Upon complaint of any person having an interest in any building or premises or property adjacent thereto, in his jurisdiction, an officer shall make an immediate investigation as to the presence of any combustible materials or the existence of inflammable or unsafe conditions in such buildings or upon such premises. Whenever any officer finds in any building or upon any premises combustible, inflammable or unsafe conditions, dangerous to the safety of the building or premises, or other property, he shall order the same to be removed or remedied, and the order shall, within a reasonable time to be fixed in the order, be complied with by the owner or occupant of the building or premises.\n\t\tAny owner or occupant aggrieved by such order may within five days after notice of such order, appeal to the Department of Fire Programs, and the cause of his complaint shall be at once investigated by the Executive Director of the Department of Fire Programs, and unless by its authority such order is revoked, the order shall remain in force and the owner or occupant shall comply with the order.\n\t\tAny owner or occupant of any building or premises failing to comply with any final order made or given under the authority of this section, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and punished by a fine of not less than $5 nor more than $100 for each offense.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":256166,"text":"The Department of Fire Programs, by its representative, or the chief or other head of the fire department of any county, city or town or district thereof, shall have the right, at all reasonable hours, for the purpose of examination, to enter into and upon any public school building or any other building or premises not at the time occupied and used as a dwelling house, within their respective jurisdictions, for examination as to combustible materials or inflammable or unsafe conditions in any such building or upon any such premises. Upon complaint of any person having an interest in any building or premises or property adjacent thereto, in his jurisdiction, an officer shall make an immediate investigation as to the presence of any combustible materials or the existence of inflammable or unsafe conditions in such buildings or upon such premises. Whenever any officer finds in any building or upon any premises combustible, inflammable or unsafe conditions, dangerous to the safety of the building or premises, or other property, he shall order the same to be removed or remedied, and the order shall, within a reasonable time to be fixed in the order, be complied with by the owner or occupant of the building or premises.\n\t\tAny owner or occupant aggrieved by such order may within five days after notice of such order, appeal to the Department of Fire Programs, and the cause of his complaint shall be at once investigated by the Executive Director of the Department of Fire Programs, and unless by its authority such order is revoked, the order shall remain in force and the owner or occupant shall comply with the order.\n\t\tAny owner or occupant of any building or premises failing to comply with any final order made or given under the authority of this section, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and punished by a fine of not less than $5 nor more than $100 for each offense.","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":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},"next_section":{"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},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/27-61\/","history_text":"

The record of this law\u2019s original creation isn\u2019t available online. It has been modified 3 times. 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. Those modifications are as follows: in 1977, chapter 613; in 1988, chapter 199; in 2007, chapters 647<\/a> and 741<\/a>.<\/p>","references":[{"id":81472,"section_number":"9.1-206","catch_line":"State Fire Marshal; qualifications; powers and duties; power to arrest, to procure and serve warrants, and to issue summonses; limitation on authority","order_by":null,"url":"\/9.1-206\/"}],"refers_to":false,"permalink":{"id":190387,"object_type":"law","relational_id":71050,"identifier":"27-61","token":"27\/6\/1\/27-61","url":"\/27-61\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/27-61\/","token":"27\/6\/1\/27-61","dublin_core":{"Title":"When Department or fire chief may remedy inflammable or unsafe conditions","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 27-61","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

The Department of Fire Programs, by its representative, or the chief or other head of the fire department of any county, city or town or district thereof, shall have the right, at all reasonable hours, for the purpose of examination, to enter into and upon any public school building or any other building or premises not at the time occupied and used as a dwelling house, within their respective jurisdictions<\/span>, for examination as to combustible materials<\/span> or inflammable or unsafe conditions in any such building or upon any such premises. Upon complaint of any person having an interest in any building or premises or property adjacent thereto, in his jurisdiction<\/span>, an officer shall make an immediate investigation as to the presence of any combustible materials<\/span> or the existence of inflammable or unsafe conditions in such buildings or upon such premises. Whenever any officer finds in any building or upon any premises combustible, inflammable or unsafe conditions, dangerous to the safety of the building or premises, or other property, he shall order the same to be removed or remedied, and the order shall, within a reasonable time to be fixed in the order, be complied with by the owner or occupant of the building or premises.\n\t\tAny owner or occupant aggrieved by such order may within five days after notice of such order, appeal<\/span> to the Department of Fire Programs, and the cause of his complaint shall be at once investigated by the Executive Director of the Department of Fire Programs, and unless by its authority such order is revoked, the order shall remain in force and the owner or occupant shall comply with the order.\n\t\tAny owner or occupant of any building or premises failing to comply with any final order<\/span> made or given under the authority of this section, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor<\/span>, and punished by a fine of not less than $5 nor more than $100 for each offense<\/span>.<\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nWHEN DEPARTMENT OR FIRE CHIEF MAY REMEDY INFLAMMABLE OR UNSAFE CONDITIONS (\u00a7\n27-61)\n\nThe Department of Fire Programs, by its representative, or the chief or other\nhead of the fire department of any county, city or town or district thereof,\nshall have the right, at all reasonable hours, for the purpose of examination,\nto enter into and upon any public school building or any other building or\npremises not at the time occupied and used as a dwelling house, within their\nrespective jurisdictions, for examination as to combustible materials or\ninflammable or unsafe conditions in any such building or upon any such premises.\nUpon complaint of any person having an interest in any building or premises or\nproperty adjacent thereto, in his jurisdiction, an officer shall make an\nimmediate investigation as to the presence of any combustible materials or the\nexistence of inflammable or unsafe conditions in such buildings or upon such\npremises. Whenever any officer finds in any building or upon any premises\ncombustible, inflammable or unsafe conditions, dangerous to the safety of the\nbuilding or premises, or other property, he shall order the same to be removed\nor remedied, and the order shall, within a reasonable time to be fixed in the\norder, be complied with by the owner or occupant of the building or premises.\n\t\tAny owner or occupant aggrieved by such order may within five days after\nnotice of such order, appeal to the Department of Fire Programs, and the cause\nof his complaint shall be at once investigated by the Executive Director of the\nDepartment of Fire Programs, and unless by its authority such order is revoked,\nthe order shall remain in force and the owner or occupant shall comply with the\norder.\n\t\tAny owner or occupant of any building or premises failing to comply with any\nfinal order made or given under the authority of this section, shall be deemed\nguilty of a misdemeanor, and punished by a fine of not less than $5 nor more\nthan $100 for each offense.\n\nHISTORY: Code 1919, \u00a7 4190; 1936, p. 776; 1977, c. 613; 1988, c. 199; 2007, cc.\n647, 741.","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}}