Mutual Fire Ins. Agency of Louisville, Inc. v. Slater & Gilroy, Inc.

COMBS, Justice.

The appellee recovered judgment in the amount of $2,237.20 on a fire insurance policy issued by the appellant. The property damaged by the fire was a furnace and appurtenant parts. When discovered, the fire had escaped from the furnace and covered the entire furnace pit.

The question is whether the damage was caused by a friendly fire or a hostile fire, or by a combination of both. Generally speaking, a fire that burns in a place where it is intended to burn to accomplish an intended purpose is a friendly fire. When a fire breaks out from where it was intended to be it is a…