(a) Upon approval by the selectboard and acceptance by the appointee, the Commissioner shall appoint a town forest fire warden for a term of five years or until a successor is appointed. A town forest fire warden may be reappointed for successive five-year terms by the Commissioner or until a successor is approved by the selectboard and appointed by the Commissioner. The warden may be removed for cause at any time by the Commissioner with the approval of the selectboard. A warden shall comply with training requirements established by the Commissioner.

(b) The Commissioner may appoint a forest fire warden for an unorganized town or gore, who shall serve for a term of five years or until a successor is appointed. An appointed forest fire warden for an unorganized town or gore may be reappointed for successive five-year terms by the Commissioner until the Commissioner appoints and the unorganized town or gore approves a successor. The warden may be removed for cause at any time by the Commissioner with the approval of the unorganized town or gore. The forest fire warden of an unorganized town or gore shall have the same powers and duties as town forest fire wardens and shall be subject to the requirements of this subchapter.

(c) When there are woodlands within the limits of a city, the chief of the fire department of such city shall act as the city forest fire warden with all the powers and duties of town forest fire wardens.

(d) When the Commissioner deems it difficult in any municipality for one warden to take charge of protecting the entire municipality from forest fires, he or she may appoint one or more deputy forest fire wardens. Such wardens under the direction of the fire warden shall have the same powers, duties, and pay and make the same reports through the fire warden to the Commissioner as forest fire wardens.

(e) The Commissioner may appoint special forest fire wardens who shall hold office during the pleasure of the Commissioner. Such fire wardens shall have the same powers and duties throughout the State as town forest fire wardens, except that all expenses and charges incurred on account of their official acts shall be paid from the appropriations for the Department. (Added 1977, No. 253 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1987, No. 107, § 1; 2015, No. 171 (Adj. Sess.), § 11.)