Mahoney v. Carus Chemical Co., Inc.

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

STEIN, J.

In this appeal we consider whether the immunity afforded by the fireman’s rule insulates from liability a defendant whose willful and wanton misconduct is the proximate cause of the fire that compelled the fireman’s presence at the fire scene and caused him to sustain injury. A related issue concerns the *567application of the fireman’s rule to the manufacturer of a defective product that is alleged to have caused the fire in which the firefighter was injured.

I

Plaintiff Thomas P. Mahoney was a volunteer firefighter with the Highland Chemical…