fire brigade damage to door to get access to semi detached property which was not damaged by fire.

[Deleted User]

If the incident was a domestic then it is very likely the police were made aware and became involved. If arson was believed to be involved the police would have been told by the fire brigade.  

The Council are also victims if their property has been damaged. 

As already said further up, you should seek legal advice regarding your losses and what you can do. You should not be out of pocket because of the cause of this being a deliberate act (arson). The fire investigators report will confirm that aspect either way. You could ask them for a copy and also contact the police to make them aware that your property has been affected in this incident.

Grumpy_chap

brinalack said:

property is a semi-detached house that I own. There was a serious fire in the adjoining property which is owned by the council and tenanted. The brigade managed to put out the fire and my property was not affected. I was absent on holiday at the time and the nearest key holder to my property was 90 minutes drive away. The brigade insisted on getting access to my property to ensure that the fire had not got access via the loft space. They were not prepared to wait for the keyholder to get there so they smashed in my back door to get access. there was no other damage to my property. The cost of a new door replacement is in the region of £500. The fire was apparently arson following a domestic dispute. Whilst I believe that I can claim under my Home policy as "emergency damage", I will still have to fork out the £300 excess and the likely increase in my insurance premium for years to come. In view of the circumstances of the fire do I have a case against the Council for the action of their tenant?  I dont think there is any chance of getting anything from the fire brigade or the tenants themselves. 
 

I'd much rather the £500 repair bill for a damaged door than the potential bill for a totally gutted house if the Fire Brigade had waited 90 minutes for the keyholder but the fire had spread and from next door and spread freely.

Seems like the FB did an excellent job here to protect (and ensure the protection of) your property.  It is, of course, fortunate that your property was undamaged, but the precaution of verifying is confidence inspiring.

As for the bill, I doubt this can be recovered from any one else.  So the OP either pays £500 and that's that, or claims on insurance but still pays the £300 excess.  If the OP can, it's probably just simpler to take the £500 hit and be grateful the event did not result in anything greater for the OP.

I hope the householder and all the residents next door are safe and sound.

CSI_Yorkshire

Deleted_User said:

If the incident was a domestic then it is very likely the police were made aware and became involved. If arson was believed to be involved the police would have been told by the fire brigade.  

The Council are also victims if their property has been damaged. 

As already said further up, you should seek legal advice regarding your losses and what you can do. You should not be out of pocket because of the cause of this being a deliberate act (arson). The fire investigators report will confirm that aspect either way. You could ask them for a copy and also contact the police to make them aware that your property has been affected in this incident.

Why does it being arson suddenly mean a payout for the OP?

There might not be an investigator's report - they are done for a small proportion of fires and not even all deliberate fires - and they could cost up to £100 to buy.  Seems over-the-top for a £500 door.

The OP might be lucky, but there's no automatic entitlement to anything in this case.

FFHillbilly

are you sure there's an excess to pay? there's normally an exception about damage being caused by emergency services

Rosa_Damascena

CSI_Yorkshire said:

Deleted_User said:

If the incident was a domestic then it is very likely the police were made aware and became involved. If arson was believed to be involved the police would have been told by the fire brigade.  

The Council are also victims if their property has been damaged. 

As already said further up, you should seek legal advice regarding your losses and what you can do. You should not be out of pocket because of the cause of this being a deliberate act (arson). The fire investigators report will confirm that aspect either way. You could ask them for a copy and also contact the police to make them aware that your property has been affected in this incident.

Why does it being arson suddenly mean a payout for the OP?

There might not be an investigator's report - they are done for a small proportion of fires and not even all deliberate fires - and they could cost up to £100 to buy.  Seems over-the-top for a £500 door.

The OP might be lucky, but there's no automatic entitlement to anything in this case.

Because where there's blame, there's a claim! This is not purely bad luck and in a civil society, actions must have consequences.

CSI_Yorkshire

Rosa_Damascena said:

CSI_Yorkshire said:

Deleted_User said:

If the incident was a domestic then it is very likely the police were made aware and became involved. If arson was believed to be involved the police would have been told by the fire brigade.  

The Council are also victims if their property has been damaged. 

As already said further up, you should seek legal advice regarding your losses and what you can do. You should not be out of pocket because of the cause of this being a deliberate act (arson). The fire investigators report will confirm that aspect either way. You could ask them for a copy and also contact the police to make them aware that your property has been affected in this incident.

Why does it being arson suddenly mean a payout for the OP?

There might not be an investigator's report - they are done for a small proportion of fires and not even all deliberate fires - and they could cost up to £100 to buy.  Seems over-the-top for a £500 door.

The OP might be lucky, but there's no automatic entitlement to anything in this case.

Because where there's blame, there's a claim! This is not purely bad luck and in a civil society, actions must have consequences.

The arson didn't break the door.  Had there been an accidental fire next door the result could have been the same.

The action of breaking the door sounds like a lawful action by the Fire Service in the pursuit of their duties.
The action of arson (if it actually was) has consequences via the police.

If you could prove on balance of probabilities (i.e. not just "that's what I've heard") who started the fire, and that whoever started the fire did so in a negligent manner, and it was accepted that the consequential damage caused by the fire service was due to that negligence, then you might have a successful civil case - but then is this person you've managed to sue (for £500?) actually going to pay or to have any assets that you could get seized by bailiffs?

DullGreyGuy

CSI_Yorkshire said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

CSI_Yorkshire said:

Deleted_User said:

If the incident was a domestic then it is very likely the police were made aware and became involved. If arson was believed to be involved the police would have been told by the fire brigade.  

The Council are also victims if their property has been damaged. 

As already said further up, you should seek legal advice regarding your losses and what you can do. You should not be out of pocket because of the cause of this being a deliberate act (arson). The fire investigators report will confirm that aspect either way. You could ask them for a copy and also contact the police to make them aware that your property has been affected in this incident.

Why does it being arson suddenly mean a payout for the OP?

There might not be an investigator's report - they are done for a small proportion of fires and not even all deliberate fires - and they could cost up to £100 to buy.  Seems over-the-top for a £500 door.

The OP might be lucky, but there's no automatic entitlement to anything in this case.

Because where there's blame, there's a claim! This is not purely bad luck and in a civil society, actions must have consequences.

The arson didn't break the door.  Had there been an accidental fire next door the result could have been the same.

The action of breaking the door sounds like a lawful action by the Fire Service in the pursuit of their duties.
The action of arson (if it actually was) has consequences via the police.

If you could prove on balance of probabilities (i.e. not just "that's what I've heard") who started the fire, and that whoever started the fire did so in a negligent manner, and it was accepted that the consequential damage caused by the fire service was due to that negligence, then you might have a successful civil case - but then is this person you've managed to sue (for £500?) actually going to pay or to have any assets that you could get seized by bailiffs?

Or home contents insurance

If the fire hadn't been started do you think the fire service would even have been called let alone broken down the neighbouring property's door? Think the causal chain is fairly strong and the proximal cause straight forward. 

It's the same when there is an earthquake that splits the gas main that then ignites, you could claim its a fire claim but the true cause is the earthquake and so only policies with earthquake cover respond. Its a more notable issue in places like the west cost US or NZ but the same principles apply.

CSI_Yorkshire

DullGreyGuy said:

CSI_Yorkshire said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

CSI_Yorkshire said:

Deleted_User said:

If the incident was a domestic then it is very likely the police were made aware and became involved. If arson was believed to be involved the police would have been told by the fire brigade.  

The Council are also victims if their property has been damaged. 

As already said further up, you should seek legal advice regarding your losses and what you can do. You should not be out of pocket because of the cause of this being a deliberate act (arson). The fire investigators report will confirm that aspect either way. You could ask them for a copy and also contact the police to make them aware that your property has been affected in this incident.

Why does it being arson suddenly mean a payout for the OP?

There might not be an investigator's report - they are done for a small proportion of fires and not even all deliberate fires - and they could cost up to £100 to buy.  Seems over-the-top for a £500 door.

The OP might be lucky, but there's no automatic entitlement to anything in this case.

Because where there's blame, there's a claim! This is not purely bad luck and in a civil society, actions must have consequences.

The arson didn't break the door.  Had there been an accidental fire next door the result could have been the same.

The action of breaking the door sounds like a lawful action by the Fire Service in the pursuit of their duties.
The action of arson (if it actually was) has consequences via the police.

If you could prove on balance of probabilities (i.e. not just "that's what I've heard") who started the fire, and that whoever started the fire did so in a negligent manner, and it was accepted that the consequential damage caused by the fire service was due to that negligence, then you might have a successful civil case - but then is this person you've managed to sue (for £500?) actually going to pay or to have any assets that you could get seized by bailiffs?

Or home contents insurance

If the fire hadn't been started do you think the fire service would even have been called let alone broken down the neighbouring property's door? Think the causal chain is fairly strong and the proximal cause straight forward. 

It's the same when there is an earthquake that splits the gas main that then ignites, you could claim its a fire claim but the true cause is the earthquake and so only policies with earthquake cover respond. Its a more notable issue in places like the west cost US or NZ but the same principles apply.

Would the third party liability section of a home contents policy trigger if the proximal cause was something not covered by the insurance?