(ii) a directing officer or a police officer
authorised by a directing officer under section 61 (1) at an actual or
imminent emergency,
is taken to be damage by the happening that constitutes
the emergency (being fire, flood, storm, tempest, explosion or other risk,
contingency or event) for the purposes of any policy of insurance against the
risk, contingency or event concerning an act or omission that covers the
property.
(2) This section applies only in respect of damage to property
caused in the exercise of a function to protect persons or animals from injury
or death or property from damage if those persons are, or the property is,
endangered by the happening that constitutes the emergency or endangered by
the escape or likely escape of hazardous material as the result of that
happening.
(3) Any provision, stipulation, covenant or condition in any
agreement that negatives, limits or modifies or purports to negative, limit or
modify the operation of this section is void and of no effect.
(4) In this
section,
"hazardous material" means anything that, when produced, stored, moved, used
or otherwise dealt with without adequate safeguards to prevent it from
escaping, may cause injury or death or damage to property.