Relating to the duties of fire officials and reports of fires and emergency responses

This bill relates to the duties of fire officials and reports of fires and emergency responses. The bill provides that the chief of the fire department or the chief’s designee of every city or township in which a fire department is established or every township where there is a contract for fire protection in effect shall investigate into the cause, origin, and circumstances of every fire occurring in the city or township resulting in property damage, bodily injury, or destruction. The investigation shall determine whether the fire was caused by natural factors, negligence, or intentional action. The bill provides that the department of transportation shall provide registration information to the chief of the fire department or the chief’s designee in the course of a required investigation if the fire official is a law enforcement officer certified by the Iowa law enforcement academy. The bill requires all law enforcement agencies within the state to authorize access to the national crime information center database to the chief of the fire department or the chief’s designee in the course of a required investigation if the fire official is a law enforcement officer certified by the Iowa law enforcement academy. The bill provides that for fires not involving death, serious bodily injury, property damage in excess of $200,000, or suspected arson, but having an estimated damage of $50 or more or emergency responses by the fire service, the fire official shall file a report with the fire marshal’s division within seven days following the end of the month regardless of whether the division participated in or supervised the investigation. Upon written request, an extension of up to days may be granted for compelling reasons. The report shall indicate all fire incidents occurring that have an estimated damage of $50 or more and state for each incident the name of the owners and occupants of the property at the time of the fire, the value of the property, the estimated total loss to the property, the origin of the fire as determined by investigation, and other facts, statistics, and circumstances concerning the fire incident. The report on each emergency response shall include the nature of the incident and other facts, statistics, and circumstances concerning the emergency response.