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Basic facts of the case
Brief facts of the case
On July 14, 2022, the "119" command center of the Zibo Fire Detachment received a report that a fire broke out in a community in Zhoucun District. In the case of condiments and other items, on August 12, 2022, the Zhoucun District Fire and Rescue Brigade of Zibo City issued a fire accident identification letter, and the cause of the fire was determined as follows: the fire point was located in Hotel A in Zhoucun District, and the cause of the fire was eliminated due to the fault of the electrical circuit, and the remaining fire was eliminated, and it was not ruled out that the combustible gas containing alcohol liquid vapor was ignited by an open flame and caused a fire. Later, the operator of Hotel B Zheng submitted an appraisal application to the Zhoucun District People's Court of Zibo City, requesting an appraisal of the losses of Hotel B caused by the above-mentioned fire, and the judicial appraisal agency issued an appraisal opinion stating that Hotel B suffered a total of 16,880 yuan of property losses (including 6,500 yuan of goods and 10,380 yuan of goods loss) and 32,500 yuan of operating losses (calculated from July 15, 2022 to March 11, 2023), totaling 39,000 yuan. Zheng then sued Hotel A and its proprietor, Song, to the court, demanding compensation for the property losses caused by the fire.
Heard by the courts
The Zhoucun District People's Court of Zibo City held after trial that if the property of others is lost due to the tortious act, it shall bear the liability for damages. In this case, the fire department issued a Fire Accident Determination, according to which the cause of the fire was not ruled out after the fault of the electrical line and the remaining fire, and the fire caused by the ignition of the combustible gas in an open flame. Combined with the fact that the fire involved in the case in this case and the fire point were all in Hotel A, if Hotel A's operator, Song, could not provide sufficient rebuttal evidence to prove that the fire involved in the case was caused by the acts of others, Hotel A should be liable for the losses caused by the fire, and if there is evidence that the fire involved in the case was indeed caused by the acts of others, it can be recovered separately, and Song, as the operator of Hotel A, should be liable for compensation. For the property loss claimed by Zheng to the court, the court held that after the fire broke out, it would inevitably cause damage to the unit that had been burned, and it was necessary to wait for the fire department to inspect the scene to determine the cause of the fire and take a reasonable way to properly preserve the evidence at the scene as the basis for the claim, and clean up, repair, It also takes a reasonable time for the purchase of goods to resume business, and Hotel A and Song should bear the business losses caused by the above-mentioned reasons, but the calculation time of the business losses claimed by Zheng based on the appraisal report is too long, and this court has decided to take three months from the fire accident determination made by the Zhoucun District Fire and Rescue Brigade as a reasonable period, and finally confirmed that its business loss is 14,490 yuan. To sum up, the Zhoucun District People's Court of Zibo City ordered Hotel A and its operator Song to compensate Zheng, the operator of Hotel B, for property losses totaling 24,870 yuan in accordance with the law.
What the judge said
Article 51 of the Fire Protection Law of the People's Republic of China stipulates: "The fire department of the public security organ has the right to close the fire scene as needed, investigate the cause of the fire, and count the fire losses." After the fire is extinguished, the unit where the fire occurred and the relevant personnel shall protect the scene in accordance with the requirements of the fire department of the public security organ, accept the investigation of the accident, and truthfully provide information related to the fire. The fire department of the public security organ shall, on the basis of the fire scene investigation and investigation and relevant inspection and appraisal opinions, promptly prepare a fire accident identification certificate as evidence for handling the fire accident. Of course, the accident determination does not automatically determine civil rights and obligations and civil liability, and if the parties have objections to the determination and can submit evidence sufficient to overturn the accident determination according to the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, the court will also comprehensively review the evidence according to the circumstances of the case and confirm the final judgment result. In the review of infringement cases, in accordance with Article 1173 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, if the infringed party is at fault for the occurrence or expansion of the same damage, the liability of the infringer may be reduced.
Relevant Laws
Article 6 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China: Civil entities engaging in civil activities shall follow the principle of fairness and reasonably determine the rights and obligations of all parties.
"Civil Code of the People's Republic of China" Article 1165: Where an actor infringes upon the civil rights and interests of others due to his fault and causes harm, he shall bear tort liability. Where it is presumed that the actor is at fault in accordance with the provisions of law, and he cannot prove that he is not at fault, he shall bear tort liability.
Article 1173 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China Where the infringed party is at fault for the occurrence or expansion of the same damage, the infringer's liability may be reduced.
Fire Protection Law of the People's Republic of China Article 51 Fire and rescue agencies have the right to close the fire scene as needed, investigate the cause of the fire, and count the fire losses. After the fire is extinguished, the unit where the fire occurred and the relevant personnel shall protect the scene in accordance with the requirements of the fire and rescue agency, accept the accident investigation, and truthfully provide information related to the fire. According to the fire scene inquest and investigation and relevant inspection and appraisal opinions, the fire rescue agency shall make a fire accident identification certificate in a timely manner as evidence for handling the fire accident.
Prepared by|Nanying Court of Zhoucun District People's Court, Sun Muyuan