Rubbish was tipped on land belonging to a canal company and on adjoining land belonging to mine owners. The rubbish on the mine owners’ land was found to be on fire, and the canal company feared that the fire might spread to their own land. Having called on the mine owners to extinguish the fire, the canal company entered the mine owners’ land (by agreement) and put out the fire. The court was asked as to whether the mine owners were liable to contribute to the cost.
Held: The mine owners had no duty to prevent the spread of the fire: ‘where a fire occurs through no fault of the landowner, without his knowledge, and, as in this case, on matter brought on his land without his knowledge and against his will, he is not responsible for the spreading of such a fire to the adjoining land, but the neighbour is entitled to go upon his land and prevent the fire from spreading.’
Judges:
Bailhache J
Citations:
[1924] 1 KB 341
Statutes:
Fires Prevention (Metropolis) Act 1774 86
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Appeal from – Job Edwards Ltd v Birmingham Navigations Proprietors CA 1924
Land next to the canal was used for the deposit of refuse by trespassers. The mound spread until, for a fee, it was dumped also across the canal. It caught fire, and the fire spread toward the canal. By agreement the parties got together to put out . .
Cited – Stannard (T/A Wyvern Tyres) v Gore CA 4-Oct-2012
The defendant, now appellant, ran a business involving the storage of tyres. The claimant neighbour’s own business next door was severely damaged in a fire of the tyres escaping onto his property. The court had found him liable in strict liability . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Negligence, Nuisance
Updated: 06 May 2022; Ref: scu.512182