66 So. 653 | Ala. | 1914
The plaintiff, E. M. Williams had some personal property stored in a room in the city of Birmingham. The building in which the' plaintiff’s property was stored was destroyed by fire, and the plaintiff’s property was burned up, along with the building. In its efforts to save the building in which the plaintiff’s goods were stored, the fire department of the city of Birmingham attached a hose to- a fire plug. Between this fire plug and- the building the defendant, Birmingham, Ensley & Bessemer Railroad Company, had a car line which was imbedded in and formed a part of a street. The hose, therefore, ex necessitate, crossed the roadbed of the defendant; and-the plaintiff claims — and there was evidence sustaining his contention — that while the hose was in this position, placed there for the purpose of conveying water to be used in extinguishing the fire, a car of the defendant was negligently run over or across the hose, cutting a hole in it, or that, if the car was riot negligently run over the hose, it was, after it was run upon the hose, permitted to stop and remain upon the hose, and that by reason of this negligence of the defendant, the firemen were so greatly delayed in getting water to the building that it was destroyed by fire and that thereby, through the negligence of the defendant, the plaintiff was caused to lose his property.
In tbis connection it may not be inappropriate to say that, in our opinion, subdivision 9, pages 496, 497, and 498, of 29 Cyc., and tbe authorities cited in tbe notes to that subdivision, correctly state tbe law as applied to tbe evidence upon wbicb, in tbis case, tbe plaintiff relied for a recovery.
Tbe complaint shows by its allegations that tbe defendant was under a duty not to- delay tbe firemen in tbeir efforts to save tbe building in wbicb tbe plaintiff’s property was situated. Tbe general averments of negligence in tbe complaint were therefore sufficient. —Western Ry. of Ala. v. McGraw, supra.
The case of First National Bank of Portland v. Fire Association of Phildelphia, 33 Or. 172, 53 Pac. 8, is a well-considered case upon this subject, and - furnishes the reasons npon which we base the above conclusion.
5. In our opinion there was evidence in this case upon which the jury, if they believed it- — and they seem to have done so — had a right to find that the negligence of the defendant contributed pro-ximately to the destruction of the plaintiff’s property,, and we are of the opinion that the trial court committed no reversible error during the trial, and that therefore the judgment of the trial court should be affirmed.
Affii’med.