{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-74-74-317","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 74, § 74-317","heading":"Examination of buildings and premises - Correctional","body":"facilities - Reports - Orders for repair, demolition, etc. - Appeals\n\n- Execution of orders - Collection of expenses - Penalties.\n\nThe State Fire Marshal, any assistants to the State Fire\n\nMarshal, the chief of the fire department of all the cities and\n\ntowns where a fire department is established, the mayor of the\n\ncities and towns where no fire department exists, the chief of a\n\nfire protection district created pursuant to Sections 901.1 et seq.\n\nof Title 19 of the Oklahoma Statutes and the sheriff of all\n\ncounties, upon the complaint of any person having an interest in any\n\nbuilding or property adjacent, and without any complaint, shall have\n\nthe right at all reasonable hours for the purpose of an examination\n\nto enter into and upon all buildings and premises within their\n\njurisdiction. The State Fire Marshal shall, at least once each\n\nyear, make a fire inspection of all correctional facilities under\n\nthe jurisdiction and control of any state agency, county, city,\n\ntown, or public trust. The correctional facilities shall include,\n\nbut not be limited to, institutions within the Department of\n\nCorrections as defined by Section 502 of Title 57 of the Oklahoma\n\nStatutes, juvenile institutions under the jurisdiction and control\n\nof the Office of Juvenile Affairs, as listed in Section 2-7-606 of\n\nTitle 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes, and jails. The State Fire\n\nMarshal shall issue a report containing findings of the inspection\n\nas to each facility under the jurisdiction and control of a state\n\nagency, to the director of the agency. As to any other correctional\n\nfacility, the State Fire Marshal shall issue the report to the\n\nperson immediately responsible for the administration of the\n\nfacility inspected. Whenever any of the officers shall find any\n\nbuilding or other structure which for the want of proper repair, or\n\nby reason of age and dilapidated condition, or for any cause is\n\nespecially liable to fire, and which is so situated as to endanger\n\nother buildings or property, or so occupied that a fire would\n\nendanger persons and property therein, the officers shall order the\n\nbuilding or buildings to be repaired, torn down, demolished,\n\nmaterials removed and all dangerous conditions remedied. Whenever\n\nthe officers determine that a threat to life is imminent, the\n\nofficers are permitted to order the evacuation of the occupants of\n\nthe building or buildings. If the officer finds in a building or\n\nupon any premises any combustible or explosive material, rubbish,\n\nrags, waste, oils, gasoline or inflammable conditions of any kind,\n\ndangerous to the safety of buildings or property, the officer shall\n\norder the materials removed or conditions remedied. The order shall\n\nbe made against the owner, lessee, agent or occupant of the\n\nbuildings or premises and, thereupon, the order shall be complied\n\nwith by the owner, lessee, agent or occupant, and within the time\n\nfixed in the order. If the owner, lessee, agent or occupant deems\n\nitself aggrieved by an order of any of the officers, and desires a\n\nhearing, that person may complain or appeal in writing to the State\n\nFire Marshal within ten (10) days from the service of the order, and\n\nthe State Fire Marshal shall at once investigate the complaint, and\n\nshall fix a time in the county where the property is located, when\n\nand where the complaint will be heard by the State Fire Marshal.\n\nThe State Fire Marshal may affirm, modify, revoke or vacate the\n\norder at the hearing, and unless the order is revoked or vacated by\n\nthe State Fire Marshal, it shall remain in force and be complied\n\nwith by the owner, lessee, agent or occupant within the time fixed\n\nin the order, or within the time as may be fixed by the State Fire\n\nMarshal at the hearing. If a person is aggrieved by the final order\n\nof the State Fire Marshal as made at the hearing, that person may,\n\nwithin ten (10) days thereafter, appeal to the district court of the\nte Fire Marshal, it shall remain in force and be complied\n\nwith by the owner, lessee, agent or occupant within the time fixed\n\nin the order, or within the time as may be fixed by the State Fire\n\nMarshal at the hearing. If a person is aggrieved by the final order\n\nof the State Fire Marshal as made at the hearing, that person may,\n\nwithin ten (10) days thereafter, appeal to the district court of the\n\ncounty in which the property is situated, notifying the State Fire\n\nMarshal in writing of the appeal within three (3) days thereafter,\n\nwhich notice shall be delivered personally to the State Fire Marshal\n\nor by registered mail to the office of the State Fire Marshal at\n\nOklahoma City, Oklahoma. The party appealing shall, within three\n\n(3) days thereafter, file with the clerk of the district court in\n\nwhich the appeal is made, a bond in an amount to be fixed by the\n\ncourt but in no case less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00), with\n\nat least sufficient sureties to be approved by the court,\n\nconditioned to pay all costs on the appeal in case the appellant\n\nfailed to sustain the same or the appeal be dismissed for any cause.\n\nThe district court shall hear and determine the appeal de novo, in\n\nthe same manner as other issues of law and fact are heard and tried\n\nin the courts, and the State Fire Marshal shall be plaintiff in the\n\naction. The district court shall hear and determine the appeal at\n\nthe next regular term of district court in the county where the\n\norder was issued, and may sustain, modify or annul the order of the\n\nState Fire Marshal, and the decision of the district court shall be\n\nfinal. The State Fire Marshal shall execute the final order of the\n\ndistrict court, and if the order is adverse to the appellant, the\n\nState Fire Marshal is empowered to cause the building or premises to\n\nbe repaired, torn down, demolished, materials removed and all\n\ndangerous conditions remedied, as the case may be, at the expense of\n\nthe appellant. If the appellant fails, refuses or neglects to\n\ncomply with the order, or pay the expense incurred by the State Fire\n\nMarshal in executing the same within thirty (30) days thereafter,\n\nthe expense shall be certified by the State Fire Marshal to the\n\ncounty assessor of the county in which the property is situated and\n\nthe county assessor shall enter the expense on the tax list of the\n\ncounty as a special charge against the real estate on which the\n\nbuilding is or was situated, and the same shall be collected as\n\nother taxes and, when collected, shall be paid to the county\n\ntreasurer and credited to the general fund of the county in which\n\nthe property is located. Any person being the owner, occupant,\n\nlessee or agent of buildings or premises, who willfully fails,\n\nneglects or refuses to comply with any order of any officer named in\n\nthis section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined not\n\nmore than Fifty Dollars ($50.00) nor less than Ten Dollars ($10.00)\n\nfor each day's neglect.","path":["OK Code","Title 74"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os74.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"23f2220cd44216dc925291522bae0f1a56294bc2508933934589feb39b8872df","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-74-74-316","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-74-74-317.1"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}