Rosa v. Dunkin' Donuts of Passaic

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

GARIBALDI, J.

In Krauth v. Geller, 31 N.J. 270, 273, 157 A.2d 129 (1960), we adopted the fireman’s rule that “the owner or occupier is not liable to a paid fireman for negligence with respect to the creation of a fire.” Id. at 273, 157 A.2d 129. In Berko v. Freda, 93 N.J. 81, 459 A.2d 663 (1983), we extended the rule to police officers.

This appeal concerns the scope of the immunity granted by the fireman’s rule. No act of negligence brought plaintiff, a police officer, to the scene of his injury. In response to an emergency medical assistance call from…