Fire Service Law
In the particular event, leading to the demise of an entire ventilation team, the owner of
the building is not liable for the damages. According to the fireman rule, firefighters do not have
the jurisdiction to sue individual businesses and homeowners not unless there are some abnormal
hazards at the scene initiated by the owners (Bennett, 2017). The owner is not to blame for the
weak system as it the result of the installation of the HVAC system in the attic not an intentional
modification. Similarly, the blame is not on the contractor, as they were fulfilling the terms of
their contract with their premise owner. Additionally, the contractor informed the owner of the
premises of the procedure that would impact the truss system, which was in line with the
employers stipulations where he needed a HVAC system installed.
Nonetheless, the owner had an obligation to inform the team or command of the
compromised truss system, but, their negligence is tolerable as they lacked the Knowledge to
determine the procedures involved in such an event. According to Bennett (2017), the main idea
of the Fireman’s rule is that firefighting personnel willing accept the peril involved in responding
to such emergency events. Further, Bennett highlights that numerous states continue to amend
the rule through legislation prohibiting firefighting personnel from claiming damages even in
cases of evident negligence (Bennett, 2017)
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Law
Consequently, command is to blame since the National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health indicates that Fire and Emergency Services organizations should ensure they
establish Standard Operating Procedures, develop a permitting process in various structures and
ensure they operate within the requirements of NFPA 1403 (Bennett, 2017). Evidently,
command did not implement the safety requirement of placing another ladder for egress due to
the urgency of containing the situation leading to demise of an entire team.
References
Law
Bennett, L. T. (2017). Fire service law (2nd ed.). Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.