CICA - Exceptional Risk (Firefighters)
Compensation for Criminal Injuries
Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2008
Criminal injury compensation claims
Firefighters are often called out to a scene where the fire has been purposely set. Arson is a very serious offence but nevertheless the fire has to be extinguished irrespective of how it started. In effect, a fire started by accident is no different from a fire started by an arsonist.
The CICA is unlikely to make an award of compensation where a firefighter is injured at the scene of a fire when the circumstances are no more than routine or involve usual, ordinary day-to-day risk. The CICA acknowledge that firefighters are highly trained, in fact, trained to an exceptionally higher standard compared to other occupations.
The CICA will examine the exact circumstances of the incident. For example, a firefighter who enters a burning building (set on fire by an arsonist) to locate and rescue a trapped person may well be awarded compensation by the CICA, if they were injured, as this act could be seen as above and beyond usual risk. The applicant would have to make out a case that their natural instinct of self-preservation was negated by the overwhelming desire to save the life of another.
In another example, an injured firefighter may well receive compensation form the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority if they entered a building to locate and extinguish the seat of a fire, to prevent further widespread damage. This may be also be the case where a firefighter is injured either locating or removing combustable or explosive material, such as compressed cylinders or inflammable substances.
The CICA have regard for incidents which occur inside and outside of the locus. Clearly, fighting a fire from the outside of a building and from the inside are two completely different scenarios. The CICA are more likely to make a compensation award to a firefighter injured when inside a building than they are to make an award for an injury sustained outside a building. Of course, there are certain situations where firefighters have to locate themselves close to the outside of a building to extinguishing a fire. They are at risk of falling debris and total building collapse. In these situations, then the CICA will need evidence that this was done due to operational difficulties, the close proximity of other structures or perhaps the urgent necessity to direct hoses onto gas storage tanks and the like.
It is unlikely that the CICA will make an award to a firefighter who trips over a hose and injures his/her ankle. Even though the incident may be one of arson, the risk of tripping over hoses is unlikely to be that of exceptional risk. It clearly falls into the category of usual and everyday risk, much as we would all experience without any type of professional training.
The CICA will always determine each case on its own merits. In the fast moving circumstances of an emergency, risk often plays a major part in the success of the operation. Please telephone us for free advice on FREEPHONE 0800 169 3683.