Liability of architect who voluntary assists public safety official in evaluating safety elements of built environment in aftermath of major disaster or emergency

(a) As used in this section: (1) “Built environment” means a human-made environment, including: (A) Homes, (B) buildings, (C) streets, (D) sidewalks, (E) parks, and (F) transportation, energy and other infrastructure; and (2) “Public safety official” means: (A) A state or municipal police officer or firefighter; (B) A building official or assistant building official appointed under sections 29-260 and 29-261, or the State Building Inspector appointed under section 29-252, or such inspector's designee; (C) A member of a community emergency response team that is activated by the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, a local emergency preparedness official or a municipal police agency; (D) An official from the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection; or (E) An official from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. (b) Any architect licensed pursuant to chapter 390 who, at the request of, under the direction of or in connection with a public safety official, voluntarily and without compensation, acts in good faith to assist such official evaluating the safety of elements of a built environment in the aftermath of a major disaster or emergency, as those terms are defined in section 28-1, shall: (1) Be held to the same standard of care applicable to a public safety official who would have performed an evaluation of the safety elements of a built environment, if not for the major disaster or emergency, and (2) Be subject to civil liability only upon a finding that the architect failed to act as a reasonably prudent public safety official, as applicable to the circumstances, would have acted under the same or similar circumstances. (c) The provisions of subsection (b) of this section shall exclusively apply to acts or omissions by an architect that occur during the time period that a declaration of a civil preparedness emergency pursuant to section 28-9 is effective or for sixty days after the issuance of such declaration, whichever is longer.