§710-1012 Refusing to assist in fire control. (1) A person commits the offense of refusing to assist in fire control when:
(a) Upon a reasonable command by a person known to him to be a firefighter, he intentionally refuses to aid in extinguishing a fire or in protecting property at the scene of a fire; or
(b) Upon command by a person known to him to be a firefighter or law enforcement officer, he intentionally disobeys an order or regulation relating to the conduct of persons in the vicinity of a fire.
(2) "Firefighter" means any officer of a fire department or any other person vested by law with the duty to extinguish fires.
(3) Refusing to assist in fire control is a petty misdemeanor.
(4) A person who complies with this section by assisting in fire control shall not be held liable to any person for damages resulting therefrom, provided he acted reasonably under the circumstances known to him at the time. [L 1972, c 9, pt of §1; am L 1977, c 191, §2; am L 1983, c 124, §15; am L 2001, c 91, §4]
COMMENTARY ON §710-1012
Subsection (1)(a) of this section is intended to place obligations upon the citizen in aiding fire control similar to those which §710-1011 places upon the citizen with regard to law enforcement. Again, the request for aid need not be obeyed unless it is reasonable under the circumstances.
Subsection (1)(b) is related to the control of crowds and vehicles in the vicinity of a fire, under circumstances where disorderly conduct and riot-dispersal statutes would not apply.
The waiver of civil liability in subsection (4) is explained in the commentary to §710-1011.
Previous Hawaii law was substantially stricter than the Code in requiring all able-bodied men between 16 and 50 to aid in extinguishing a fire when properly so requested. The section also imposed liability upon one who refused to lend necessary materials to the control of a fire. The available penalty upon conviction was a fine of from $10 to $1,000.1 The Code more precisely states when aid is expected and what type can be requested.
__________
§710-1012 Commentary:
1. H.R.S. §185-8.
Copyright ©2024 LegalFix. All rights reserved. LegalFix is not a law firm, is not licensed to practice law, and does not provide legal advice, services, or representation. The information on this website is an overview of the legal plans you can purchase—or that may be provided by your employer as an employee benefit or by your credit union or other membership group as a membership benefit.
LegalFix provides its members with easy access to affordable legal services through a network of independent law firms. LegalFix, its corporate entity, and its officers, directors, employees, agents, and contractors do not provide legal advice, services, or representation—directly or indirectly.
The articles and information on the site are not legal advice and should not be relied upon—they are for information purposes only. You should become a LegalFix member to get legal services from one of our network law firms.
You should not disclose confidential or potentially incriminating information to LegalFix—you should only communicate such information to your network law firm.
The benefits and legal services described in the LegalFix legal plans are not always available in all states or with all plans. See the legal plan Benefit Overview and the more comprehensive legal plan contract during checkout for coverage details in your state.
Use of this website, the purchase of legal plans, and access to the LegalFix networks of law firms are subject to the LegalFix Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.