Fighting the so called “Fireman’s Rule”

The legal doctrine termed the “Fireman’s Rule” provides:

   A fireman brought in contact with (1) an emergency situation; (2) solely by reason of his status as a fireman; and (3) who is injured while performing fireman's duties; may not recover against (4) the person whose ordinary negligence created the emergency.

   However, the Fireman’s Rule does not apply when injuries are caused by a third party’s “more than ordinary negligence.” An example of “more than ordinary negligence” would be driving while intoxicated or careless and imprudent driving.

   The Fireman’s Rule also requires that the injury occur in an emergency or rescue situation. The Missouri Supreme Court has held that the non-emergency exception to the Fireman’s rule would not bar an action for injuries suffered by a firefighter or police officer while performing routine duties in a non-emergency situation. For example, a police officer who injured himself on wooden steps coming off of a boat dock onto defendant’s property suffered injuries that were not under circumstances that would engage the officer’s professional duty to rescue or respond to an emergency.
   The Missouri Supreme Court has also commented that the Fireman’s Rule is inapplicable when a routine inspection is being carried out and the firefighter or police officer can choose not to proceed of the apparent risks present and unreasonable danger. Specifically, the court stated, “The Fireman’s Rule is a narrow exception to the rescue doctrine, justified by the public’s need for immediate and courageous action by public safety officers in emergency situations.”

Workers’ Compensation

   Recently, the Missouri General Assembly has clarified the Workers’ Compensation Law to provide additional relief to firefighters and police officers. Specifically, disease of the lungs or respiratory tract, hypotension, hypertension, or disease of the heart or cardiovascular system, including carcinoma, may be recognized as occupational diseases for the purposes of workers' compensation law and are defined to be disability due to exposure to smoke, gases, carcinogens, inadequate oxygen of paid firefighters of a paid fire department or paid police officers of a paid police department.