McCann v. Chicago, Milwaukee & Puget Sound Railway Co.

Citations

• 91 Wash. 626
• 158 P. 243

Syllabus

<p>Railroads — Fires—Negligence — Evidence — Question for Jury. In an action for damages for fire negligently communicated, a question for the jury was presented, though no testimony as to eyewitnesses of actual communication, where there was evidence of a fire on defendants’ land, one arising on plaintiffs’ land a few hours later, a strong wind from the former in the direction of the latter, and continuous scars of devastation between the two places, even though there was a possibility of communication from independent fires in the neighborhood.</p> <p>Railroads — Fires—Instructions. In an action for negligently communicating fire to plaintiffs’ timber, a requested instruction for the jury to find for defendants, if they should find that plaintiffs’ timber caught fire from other fires and was certain to be burned, though the two fires might have mingled before they reached plaintiffs’ land, was properly refused, where the jury were instructed to take into account the other fires, and that the burden was on plaintiffs to trace defendants’ fire to their own premises and show that their fire was caused by defendants’ particular fire and none other.</p> <p>Appeal — Review—Harmless Error — Admission of Evidence. In an action for negligently communicating fire from defendants’ to plaintiffs’ premises, the admission of evidence that, just before the fire, the defendants took out burning permits, which were soon after revoked,. was harmless, where it was in evidence that defendants did at the time start a fire on their lands.</p> <p>Evidence — Res Gestae — Admissibility. In an action against defendants for negligently communicating fire to plaintiffs’ premises, evidence that simultaneously with the fire, one of the defendants stated: “I have got an awful fire — the fire got away from me,” was admissible as part of the res gestae, whether or not defendant or his men had caused the fire, and whether or not they had tried to put it out.</p>