§15A-10-25. Awarding service weapon upon retirement of fire marshal or service weapon.

(a) Upon the retirement of a State Fire Marshal, any full-time deputy fire marshal, or any full-time assistant fire marshal employed by the State Fire Marshal pursuant to this article shall award to the retiring member his or her service weapon, without charge, upon determining:

(1) That the retiring employee is retiring honorably with at least 10 years of service; or

(2) The retiring employee is retiring with less than 10 years of service based upon a determination that the employee is totally physically disabled as a result of his or her service with the State Fire Marshal.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the State Fire Marshal shall not award a service weapon to any employee whom the State Fire Marshal: (1) Knows is prohibited from possessing a firearm by state of federal law; (2) has reason to believe such retiring employee to be mentally incapacitated; or (3) has reason to believe the retiring employee constitutes a danger to any person or the community.

(c) If a service weapon is taken out of service due to routine wear, the State Fire Marshal may offer the service weapon for sale to any active or retired State Fire Marshal, assistant state fire marshal, or deputy state fire marshal, at fair market value, with the proceeds from any sales used to offset the cost of new service weapons. The disposal of service weapons pursuant to this subsection does not fall within the jurisdiction of the Purchasing Division of the Department of Administration.