§185-4 Payment for firefighting. (a) No federal or county agency summoned by the administrator or manager to assist in extinguishing a fire shall be reimbursed for expenses incurred in such firefighting unless specified by mutual aid agreement.

(b) No owner, lessee, or occupier of any lands upon which a fire has occurred, nor any employee of such persons, nor any person who has any vested interest in and to the lands or that person's employees shall be entitled to the compensation provided for in this chapter, for services and materials rendered in and upon the land in the extinguishment of any fire; provided that the prohibition shall not apply to owners or persons holding interests to any lands which have been surrendered to the department under agreement as a public forest reserve for a period of ten years or more or as a public hunting area for a period of five years or more or to any owner who suffered a fire as a result of allowing use of the owner's land by the general public without compensation.

(c) All reimbursable expenses incurred in controlling or extinguishing a fire by the administrator or a manager shall be payable from the firefighter's contingency fund, provided the fire suppression budget is exceeded, and the owner, lessee, or agency having control over the lands has not been negligent in starting or failing to control or extinguish a fire. Any person, agency, or corporation summoned by the administrator or a manager to assist in extinguishing a fire eligible under this chapter to claim for reimbursement for wages, equipment use, supplies, or materials must submit an itemized statement of such claims to the administrator through the manager within forty-five working days after the fire has been extinguished in order to have it honored.

(d) There shall be established under the control of the department a firefighter's contingency fund into which shall be deposited appropriations made by the legislature. [L 1953, c 100, §6; RL 1955, §19-54; am L 1957, c 98, §3; am L Sp 1959 2d, c 1, §22; am L 1961, c 132, §1; HRS §185-4; am L 1974, c 64, pt of §1; am L 1978, c 93, §1; am L 1986, c 209, §1; am L 1993, c 161, §1; am L 1994, c 140, §5]