West Virginia Code 29-3A-3 – Conducting investigation to determine cause of fire
To determine the cause of any fire, the chief of any fire department or company or other authorized fire fighter may enter the scene of such fire within a forty-eight hour period after such fire has been extinguished.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 29-3A-3
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Personal property: All property that is not real property.
- personal property: includes goods, chattels, real and personal, money, credits, investments, and the evidences thereof. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
If there is evidence that a fire was of incendiary origin, the fire chief or other authorized fire fighter may control who may enter the scene of such fire by posting no trespassing signs at such scene for a period of forty-eight hours after such fire has been extinguished.
During the period that the scene of a fire is posted against trespassing, no person shall enter such scene, except that an owner, lessee or any other person having personal property at such scene may enter at any time after such scene has been declared safe by authorized fire department or company officials to recover or salvage personal property if said owner, lessee or person is accompanied by or is granted permission to enter such scene by an authorized fire department or company official.