Nothing in this act shall be so construed as to relieve the owner or lessee of lands, upon which fires may burn or be started, from the duty of extinguishing such fire so far as may lie within his power.

No owner or lessee of land upon which fire may burn or be started, nor any person during employment with such owner or lessee, nor any other person with a present vested interest in such land, shall receive compensation under this act for extinguishing fire upon his land or the land to which his interest is attached: Provided, however, That this provision shall not apply to the extinguishing of fires on lands which are listed with the Department of Forestry¹ under agreement for the better protection, management, and development of such land for the present and future timber supply, and where the expenditure on the part of the landowner for such purpose shall be not less than ten cents per acre per year, of which assessments paid to any protection association, cooperating with the Department of Forestry, may be a part.

No person who is responsible for the spreading of a fire to a woodlot, forest, or wild land, nor any person in his employ, may receive compensation from a fire warden for helping to extinguish such fire.