the initial situation
A couple has been spending their holidays in the same hotel for many years. We know each other by now and so the couple chats with the hotel manager in the hallway. The guest takes a step back and unintentionally bumps into the fire alarm, which is attached to the wall at shoulder height. The manual alarm button does not trigger the alarm in the hotel itself, but reports it directly to the nearest fire brigade headquarters. To explain: Manual alarm buttons are often to be found where a lot of public traffic is to be expected. They are equipped with an alarm button in the middle, which is secured by a glass pane. After smashing the pane, the button can be pressed.
The fire brigade was on site only a short time after the alarm was triggered in the hotel. The hotel was billed 400 francs for the false alarm. In addition, there was 500 francs for a new detector because the old one could no longer be reset to its original position. Both bills were passed on to the guest who was responsible for the fire service.
A case for insurance?
According to the guest, it was clear that he would have to pay for part of the costs, after all, the unnecessary effort was on his account. But it was too much for him to be responsible for the entire bill. So the question arises whether such a false alarm is not a matter of liability insurance. The hotel manager was of the opinion that the fault was clearly attributable to the guest, so he would also have to be liable for the damage. This is a typical liability claim for the hotel.
Liability insurance sees it differently, however, because it does not cover financial losses. She pays 300 of the total of 900 francs, with the assumption of costs being limited to the repair costs. From this, however, another 200 francs was deducted, which was agreed as a deductible. The fire brigade itself is not covered here because it was neither property nor personal injury.
Whether and to what extent the liability insurance has to be liable for the unintentionally triggered fire alarm varies. While some providers take such damage completely out of the service, other insurance companies would have covered the costs and only withheld the deductible.
The Swiss Fire Brigade Association says that it is usually common for such an unintentional use not to be charged for the first time. The reason is that this could happen to anyone and the fire brigade would prefer to be there, even if it turns out to be unnecessary. However, if such an incident happens again, costs would be charged. From the second time on, it is therefore possible that the polluter receives the invoice for the fire service. The respective municipality is responsible for the amount of the invoices.
In the present case, the fire brigade was in the hotel for the second time because the fire alarm had been triggered unintentionally. Now there was the bill and it hit the guest. Unfortunately, rightly so, as it turned out.
Conclusion: Unintentional fire alarms can be expensive
Anyone who unintentionally triggers a fire alarm must expect this mishap to cause high costs. Because the fire brigade has to go out and switch off the alarm, sometimes it is necessary to replace the fire alarm. The polluter must bear the costs for this. In the best case scenario, there is liability insurance that covers the costs, with the deductible being deducted. However, it is also possible that the insurance does not bear any costs and that the person who caused the damage has to pay for the damage alone. The municipalities are always responsible for how high the bill may be, because they set the fees for firefighting operations themselves.
