Colorado § 30-10-513.5 - Authority of sheriff relating to fires within unincorporated areas of county - liability for expenses.

§ 30-10-513.5. Authority of sheriff relating to fires within unincorporated areas of county - liability for expenses.

(1) (a) The sheriff of any county may request assistance from a fire protection district or municipality in controlling or extinguishing a fire occurring on private property if, in the judgment of such sheriff, the fire constitutes a danger to the health and safety of the public or a risk of serious damage to property. Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, any fire protection district or municipality assisting in controlling or extinguishing such fire is entitled to reimbursement from the property owner on whose property the fire occurred or from the party responsible for the occurrence of such fire for the reasonable and documented costs resulting from such assistance. The fire protection district or municipality may recover the costs incurred in a civil action against the property owner or the responsible party or may, by resolution of its board or governing body adopted at a public hearing after notice to the affected parties, certify to the county treasurer the amount of any costs incurred that remains uncollected after diligent effort for a period greater than one hundred eighty days. Such certification is subject to the appeal process and all other remedies, if any, provided in the "State Administrative Procedure Act", article 4 of title 24, C.R.S. If the fire protection district or municipality prevails, the amount certified shall be collected by the treasurer in the same manner as taxes are authorized to be collected pursuant to section 39-10-107, C.R.S. To defray the costs of collection, the treasurer shall be authorized to charge an amount equal to ten percent of the amount collected.

(b) For purposes of this subsection (1), "fire occurring on private property" means:

(I) A fire occurring on property not located within a fire protection district or municipality providing fire protection services.

(II) (Deleted by amendment, L. 93, p. 1253, § 1, effective July 1, 1993.)

(c) This section does not prohibit a county from reimbursing a fire protection district, fire department, or volunteer fire department for expenses necessarily incurred in controlling or extinguishing a prairie, forest, or wildland fire from a county funding source in accordance with section 30-10-513 (3)(b).

(2) (a) An owner of private property who has contracted with a fire protection district for fire protection services shall advise the sheriff of such contract and any fire protection districts with which such district has mutual aid agreements. In the event that a fire occurs on such property, the sheriff shall make a reasonable attempt to secure the services from such district. If the district does not respond, he shall make a reasonable attempt to secure such services from any of the districts with which such district has mutual aid agreements. If services cannot be secured, the sheriff, in his discretion, may attempt to secure fire protection services from any other district or municipality, and, if services are provided, the owner of the property or the party responsible for the fire shall be liable for the costs incurred by such district or municipality. Such costs may be assessed and collected in the manner provided in subsection (1) of this section.

(b) No sheriff shall be held liable for failure to secure fire protection services as required by paragraph (a) of this subsection (2) unless the failure was due to willful misconduct, gross negligence, or bad faith.

(3) Any property owner who desires to conduct a controlled burn of a structure or building located on such property shall notify the county sheriff of the date when such controlled burn will be conducted. Any property owner providing such notification shall not be liable for any costs under this section resulting from the response by a fire protection district or municipality to such controlled burn due to any person informing or warning such district or municipality of the fire arising from such burn.

Source: L. 89: Entire section added, p. 1279, § 1, effective April 26. L. 93: (1) amended and (3) added, p. 1253, § 1, effective July 1. L. 2000: (1)(a) amended, p. 1304, § 7, effective May 26. L. 2022: (1)(c) added, (SB 22-002), ch. 339, p. 2442, § 7, effective June 3.

Cross references: For the legislative declaration contained in the 2000 act amending subsection (1)(a), see section 7 of chapter 272, Session Laws of Colorado 2000.