(1) When a worker of a nongovernment employer is injured or develops an occupational disease due to an exposure while assisting in the life and rescue phase of an emergency, in response to a request for assistance from a state or local government entity, including fire service or law enforcement, the cost of benefits shall be reimbursed from the disaster response account, RCW 38.52.105, to the appropriate workers' compensation fund, or to the self-insured employer, as the case may be. The cost of such injuries or occupational diseases shall not be charged to the experience record of a state fund employer. (2) For the purposes of this section, "life and rescue phase" means the first seventy-two hours after the occurrence of a natural or man-made disaster in which a state or municipal entity, including fire service or law enforcement, acknowledges or declares such a disaster and requests assistance from the private sector in locating and rescuing survivors. The initial life and rescue phase may be extended for a finite period of time by declaration of the state or municipal entity requesting assistance. [ 2005 c 422 s 1.]
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