Fire Brigade damage cost

master811

Do i have any recourse against either the local Fire Brigade or a neighbour who called them and shouldn't have done?

I rent a flat, and the neighbour below called the Fire Brigade because there was water coming out of an overflow pipe (from the Boiler) and this goes into a light well onto a flat roof on the ground floor property, which is not the neighbour's.

The FB promptly arrived whilst my tenant was not there - and broke down the door. Their excuse is that it could have been water overflowing from a bath and so someone could have been drowning (which I could understand), however water overflowing from a bath goes into a drain (not an overflow pipe), so that doesn't really hold up. They are now using their "get of jail free card" and absolving all liability.

The front door is now damaged, and needs repairing, is it likely I could get either of them to foot the bill?

The source of the water is being looked at separately obviously.

Comms69

If you haven't already replaced the door, why not??


That's the priority, then sort out who pays. (which should be you in reality)

davidmcn

Is it an insured risk?

EachPenny

master811 wrote: »

The FB promptly arrived whilst my tenant was not there - and broke down the door. Their excuse is that it could have been water overflowing from a bath and so someone could have been drowning (which I could understand), however water overflowing from a bath goes into a drain (not an overflow pipe), so that doesn't really hold up. They are now using their "get of jail free card" and absolving all liability.

Water coming out of an overflow pipe is not really an emergency the Fire Service should have been called out for, but once there they cannot just ignore what they can see. They have no way of knowing what the overflow pipe serves and it is possible for it to have been coming from a bath (for example). It sounds like they had reasonable grounds to enter the flat to find out what was going on.

A 'boiler overflow' pipe could also suggest something more serious might happen if ignored.

Maybe give your mobile number to the neighbour(s) so if anything like this happens again they can contact you, rather than calling the emergency services?

Norman_Castle

Their excuse is that it could have been water overflowing from a bath and so someone could have been drowning

Odd response. Exactly how long had the water being overflowing before they arrived? Did the neighbour suggest or insist they break in or was it the fire brigades choice? Is this standard practice for water leaking from an overflow pipe?

master811

I don't know how long the water was overflowing for or even how much yet. They obviously shouldn't have called the FB, and should have called their agent (who is different from mine or at least a contact number which they have).

The FB made the choice I believe to break down the door, but they should have investigated further I feel before just breaking in. I guess they wouldn't have known it was a boiler overflow, but then what else could it be?

Both the neighbour and the FB are in the wrong here, it's just a case of whether i have any chance of recovering the cost for fixing the door.

EachPenny

Norman_Castle wrote: »

Odd response. Exactly how long had the water being overflowing before they arrived? Did the neighbour suggest or insist they break in or was it the fire brigades choice? Is this standard practice for water leaking from an overflow pipe?

Personally I don't care about that. I don't want Fire Service officers standing outside people's homes debating whether they are going to be sued for breaking in.

I want them to make a judgement whether someone's life is at risk and to be able to get on with their job of saving lives (and property).

One day it could be you or me in the bath, and I'd rather have the chance to work out how to pay for getting my door fixed myself, rather than that job being left to my executors.

G_M

Most decent landlord's buildings insurance policy will cover damage caused by the emergency services.

Check your policy. eg

Damage to the Property following emergency access

what is not covered: Any amount in excess of £1,000

https://secure.endsleigh.co.uk/HostDocs/PolicyBooklets/LLDPNL/current.pdf

parkrunner

I have no problem with the neighbour phoning the fire brigade, it's then in the hands of professionals to decide what to do next.

phill99

EachPenny wrote: »

Personally I don't care about that. I don't want Fire Service officers standing outside people's homes debating whether they are going to be sued for breaking in.

I want them to make a judgement whether someone's life is at risk and to be able to get on with their job of saving lives (and property).

One day it could be you or me in the bath, and I'd rather have the chance to work out how to pay for getting my door fixed myself, rather than that job being left to my executors.

The only sensible answer here.

Teapot55

EachPenny wrote: »

Water coming out of an overflow pipe is not really an emergency the Fire Service should have been called out for, but once there they cannot just ignore what they can see. They have no way of knowing what the overflow pipe serves and it is possible for it to have been coming from a bath (for example). It sounds like they had reasonable grounds to enter the flat to find out what was going on.

A 'boiler overflow' pipe could also suggest something more serious might happen if ignored.

Maybe give your mobile number to the neighbour(s) so if anything like this happens again they can contact you, rather than calling the emergency services?

That's exactly what my neighbour did - called me up on the mobile number I had given her while my place was being renovated - late one Saturday evening - about the dreadful crashing noise that had come from my house. They had also called the police, who had peered in the front window & the letter-box & went away again, having made the decision that whatever it was, it wasn't too serious.

I meantime was stuck for ages in a queue to leave a car-park after a concert & was frantic with worry. When eventually I got there all was quiet & dark. On entering the living-room at the back we discovered plaster debris everywhere. The builder doing the replastering in the bedroom above had upset a bucket of water the day before. This had seeped through the floorboards & it took 24 hours for the only lath & plaster ceiling still remaining in the property to finally give way.

The builder reluctantly agreed to replace the ceiling for the cost of materials only. All's well that ends well. Phew.