Gunnison Valley News | 1927-03-03 | Page 4 | Penalizing Fire Carelessness

PENALIZING FIRE CARELESSNESS The United States has done little regarding personal responsibility responsi-bility for damages done to others by fires caused by carelessness. In Indiana, however, an owner of property may be held liable for damage done by fire to another's property, provided this damage was occasioned by failure to comply with an order of the state fire marshal. j Authority of the state fire marshal includes making and issuing orders for abatement or removal of fire hazards and includes order-1 ing of repaiars to or the complete removal of buildings found to come j within the purview of the act, as well as enforcement of regulations pertaining to storage, use, manufacture, sale, handling and trans-, vortation of all classes of combustibles and explosives. j The owner of property, condemned as a fire hazard, who per- : sists in maintaining it in such a condition despite the order of the ! state fire marshal, may be held liable in damages to others whose J property is reduced in rental value or otherwise by reason of condi-! tion of condemned vroverty or whose insurance rates upon their own property are increased by reason of such condition. If other states would follow the lead of Indiana and adopt such " ' ' a law, it would do much to lessen fire hazards and reduce fire losses in Our Country.