MONTANA. Railroads to make fire NOTE.-Laws of 1901, page 163, as amended by Laws of 1903, chap. 63, sec. 1, provides that railroads within the state guards. shall, between April 1 and July 1, qlow a fire guard six feet wide on each side of its track, not less than 300 feet from track in uncultivated country or 70 feet in cultivated country, and burn before September 15 the grass at least 50 feet inside of each slip, such plowing not required in the mountains or impracticable country within the limits of a city or village and to be further released in the discretion of the county commissioners. Sec. 2 provides that, on failure of railroad On failure to comply, comto comply with this law, the county commissioners may have missioners may the plowing and burning done and recover, from the company, construct. double the cost of making the fire guard and further that the railroad company shall be liable for any damage due to their neglect to make such fire guards. NEBRASKA. Railroads to COMPILED STATUTES.-Sec. 2061. The right of way of all rail- mow right of roads in the state of Nebraska shall be mowed each year between way. the fifteenth day of July and the fifteenth day of August. Failure to comply. Sec. 2062. If any railroad company or corporation owning or operating a railroad over said right of way shall neglect or refuse to cause their right of way to be mowed as provided in the foregoing section, any person occupying or owning the land adjoining said right of way may, after said fifteenth day of August, cause the portion of said right of way adjoining the said land occupied or owned by such person to be mowed, and shall receive for such work the reasonable value thereof, to be fixed by the road overseer of said district, who shall certify under oath to the value of such work, and the said certificate shall be filed with the county Certified bill clerk, and the said certified bill shall be charged to said company of volunteer and collected for said person in the same manner and at the same tax lien. time as other taxes. NEW HAMPSHIRE. mower to be a of PUBLIC STATUTES, CHAP. CLX.-Sec. 29. The proprietors of Liability railroad comevery railroad shall be liable for all damages to any person or pany for forest property by fire or steam from any locomotive or engine upon their fires. road. Sec. 30. Such proprietors shall have an insurable interest in all property situate upon the line of their road, which is exposed to such damage, and they may effect insurance thereon for their own benefit. Sec. 31. Such proprietors shall be entitled to the benefit of any insurance effected upon such property by the owner thereof, less the cost of premium and of expense of recovery. The insurance shall be deducted from the damages if recovered before the damages are assessed, or if not, the policy shall be assigned to the proprietors who may maintain an action thereon. 13647-No. 57-05 M-14 Insurable interest. Same. Proper precautions by railroads. fires. NEW JERSEY. GENERAL STATUTES, PAGE 2671.-Sec. 124. It shall be the duty of every railroad company in this state, and of every company or person operating or using any railroad in this state, with a locomotive or locomotive engines, to take and use all practicable means to prevent the communication of fire from any locomotive engine used or employed by them on any railroad in this state, in passing along or being on any such railroad, to any property of whatever description of any owner or occupant of any land adjacent or near to such railroad. Liability of Sec. 125. When any injury is done to any building, grain, hay, railroad company for forest crops or other property of any person or corporation, by fire communicated by a locomotive engine of any person or railroad corporation, in violation of the foregoing section of this act, said person or corporation shall be held responsible in damages to the person or corporation so injured; and it shall be lawful for any railroad company to make an agreement for insurance of any such property on which an insurance may be practicable, and such cerInsurable poration shall have an insurable interest therein accordingly, and may effect insurance thereon in its own behalf. interest. Spark arresters. Evidence. Penalty. Sec. 126. It shall be the duty of every railroad company in this state and of every company or person operating or using any railroad in this state, with a locomotive engine or engines, to provide such engine or engines with a screen or screens, or cover or covers, on the smoke stack or smoke pipe of such engine or engines so as to prevent as much as practicable the escape of fire, either from wood, soft coal or hard coal, from the smoke stack or smoke stacks, smoke pipe or smoke pipes of said engine or engines. NOTE.--If a railroad has a proper spark arrester, it is not liable if sparks escape. Hoff v. Rwy. Co., 16 Vr., 201. Sec. 127. In every action now or hereafter brought for the recovery of damages for an injury done to the property of any person or corporation, by fire communicated by a locomotive engine of any person or railroad corporation, in violation of the preceding section of this act, proof that the injury was so done shall be made prima facie evidence of such violation, subject nevertheless to be rebutted by evidence of the taking and using all practicable means to prevent such communication of fire, as by said section required. Sec. 128. If any company or person shall refuse or neglect to comply with either of the foregoing provisions of this act for preventing the communication of fire from locomotives, they shall forfeit for every such refusal or neglect the sum of one hundred dollars, to any person who may sue for the same, to be recovered with costs in an action of debt in any court having cognizance Reward to thereof, one-half of the sum recovered to go to the person suing, prosecutor. and one-half to the state for the public school fund. NEW MEXICO. Fire guards. NOTE.-Compiled Laws, Sec. 3904, provides that the county commissioners may require railroads to make fire guards, by plowing strips six feet in width on the outer lines of the rights of way and burning the dry grass between such strips and the track, such work to be done between July 15th and October 1st. Sec. 3905 provides a penalty of $200 for each mile not thus fire guarded after notice. Sec. 3906 provides Commissionthat if railroad fails to comply with notice, the commissioners ers to make may make the fire guards and collect the expense with costs fire guards and collect. of collection from the railroad. NEW YORK. Penalty. Railroads in timberland. Spark arresters. mission to en LAWS OF 1904, CHAP. 590 (AMENDING GENERAL LAWS, PAGE 1511). Sec. 228. Every railroad company shall on such part of its road as passes through forest lands or lands subject to fires from any cause, cut and remove from its right of way along such lands at least twice a year, all grass, brush and other inflammable materials. Where the railroad runs through forest lands in counties containing part of the forest preserve, it shall so cut and remove the same from its right of way whenever required by the commissioner; employ in seasons of drought and before vegetation has revived in the spring, sufficient trackmen to promptly put out fires on its right of way; provide locomotives thereon with netting of steel or iron wire so constructed as to give the best practicable protection against the escape of fire and sparks from the smoke stacks thereof and adequate devices to prevent the escape of fire from ash pans and furnaces which shall be used on such locomotives. The railroad commission must upon the request Railroad comof the forest, fish and game commissioner, and on notice to the force rules. railroad company or companies affected, require any railroad company having a railroad running through forest lands in counties containing parts of the forest preserve, to adopt such devices and precautions against setting fire upon its line in such forest lands as the public interest requires. No railroad company or employee thereof shall deposit fire coals or ashes on its track or right of way near such lands. In case of fire on its own or neighboring lands, the railroad company shall use all practicable means to put it out. Engineers, conductors or trainmen discovering or knowing Railroad ofof fires in fences or other material along or near the right of way of notice of fires. ficials to give the railroad in such lands, shall report the same at the first station to the station agent, and such station agent shall forthwith notify the nearest fire warden or game protector thereof, and use all necessary means to extinguish the same. Any railroad company failing or neglecting to comply with any of the provisions of this section, or any order of the railroad commission made pursuant to the provisions of this section, shall be liable to a penalty of one hundred dollars for each day that it continues a violation thereof, and any officer or employee of a railroad company violating any provision of this section or neglecting to comply with any requirement of the railroad commission duly ordered, shall be liable to a penalty of one hundred dollars for every such violation. The supreme court may on notice to the persons or corporations Live coals. Penalty. fires. affected enforce compliance with any such order of the railroad commission. NOTE. See also middle of sec. 224-a and of sec. 224-b in Chap. IV A of this bulletin, page 177. NORTH DAKOTA. Liability o f REVISED CODE.-Sec. 2983. All railroad companies or corporations railroad company for forest operating or running cars or steam engines over roads in this state shall be liable to any party aggrieved for all damages resulting from fire negligently escaping or being negligently scattered or Contributory thrown from said cars or engines; provided, that such railroad negligence. company or corporation shall not be liable for such said damages when the same result from the default or negligence of the party injured. Evidence. Spark arrest ers. Penalty. Right of way kept clear. Sec. 2984. Upon the trial of any action against a railroad company doing business in this state for damages resulting from fire escaping or being scattered or thrown from its cars or engines, or from cars or engines under its control, the party injured shall not be required to show defect in such cars or engines or negligence on the part of the employees of such company; but the fact of such fire so escaping or being scattered or thrown shall be construed as prima facie evidence of such defect or negligence. NOTE. See also sec. 1673, in Chapter IV A of this bulletin. OHIO. ANNOTATED STATUTES.-Sec. 3365. 1. Every railroad company operating a railroad, or any portion of a railroad, wholly or partially within the state of Ohio, shall place, or cause to be placed, on every locomotive engine used in operating such railroads, or constructing or repairing the same, some device or contrivance that will most effectually guard against the emission of fire and sparks which would otherwise be thrown out by such engines, and such railroad companies shall keep such device or contrivance in good repair: Provided, that such railroad companies shall not be required to use such devices during the months of December, January and February. Sec. 3365. 2. Any railroad company or corporation violating the provisions of this act shall, upon conviction thereof in any court of competent jurisdiction, forfeit and pay for each and every such violation any sum not exceeding one hundred dollars; and in addition thereto the court of common pleas, in and for any county through which such railroads are or may hereafter be constructed or operated, may enjoin such railroad companies or corporations from operating on such railroads any locomotive not provided with the device as required by section one (3365-1). Sec. 3365. 3. Every railroad company, or every person in charge of a railroad as manager or receiver, shall be required to keep the right of way of such company clear and free from weeds, high grass and decayed timber, which from their nature and condition are combustible material liable to take and communicate fire from Civil liability. passing locomotives to abutting or adjacent property. And such company shall be liable for all damage sustained by the owner or occupant of abutting property form any carelessness or neglect to keep such right of way clear of combustible material as herein provided. Failure comply. to owners may of Sec. 3365. 4. Any person owning or controlling property abutting or adjacent to such railroad right of way, in case of failure to comply with the provisions of this act after twenty days' notice in writing, the default still continuing, may cause to be removed Adjacent all combustible material from the right of way of such railroad, clear the right along or by such abutting or adjacent property, and upon pres- way. entation of a reasonable account for the same to the agent at the nearest station of such company or receiver, and if the such com- And collect the expense of pany or receiver refuse to pay the same within thirty days, the clearing. amount may be recovered by law, before any court having jurisdiction thereof. Sec. 3365. 5. Every railroad company operating a railroad or any portion of a railroad wholly or partially within the state of Ohio, shall be liable for all loss or damage by fire originating upon the land belonging to such railroad company caused by operating such railroad. Such railroad company shall be further liable for all loss or damage by fires originating on lands adjacent to such railroad company's land caused in whole or in part by sparks from an engine passing over the line of such railroad, to be recovered before any court of competent jurisdiction within the county in which the lands on which such loss or damage occur are situated, and the existence of such fires upon such railroad company's lands shall be prima facie evidence that such fire was caused by operating such railroad. Liability of railroad pany. com NOTE 1.-Sec. 3365-6 provides that in actions for damages Negligence by caused by fire from a locomotive, the fact that such fire was railroad. thus started shall be prima facie evidence of negligence and that no proper use of land shall charge the owner with con- Contributory NOTE 2. This section is not unconstitutional. OKLAHOMA. NOTE.-See Chapter IV A of this bulletin, sec. 2909, page 184. SOUTH CAROLINA. Contributory negligence. CIVIL CODE-Sec. 2135. Every railroad corporation shall be re- Liability of railroad comsponsible in damages to any person or corporation whose buildings pany for foror other property may be injured by fire communicated by its est fires. locomotive engines or originating within the limits of the right of way of said road in consequence of the act of any of its authorized agents or employes, except in any case where property shall have been placed on the right of way of such corporation unlawfully or without its consent, and shall have an insurable interest in the property upon its route for which it may be held responsible, and may procure insurance thereon in its own behalf. NOTE. The statutory liability does not cover fires caused by engines of lessees or third parties. Lipfield v. Rwy. Co., 41 S. C. 285. Insurable in terest. |