Monday, February 12th, 2001 — The Christmas carol "Deck the Halls" describes December as "the season to be jolly." Well, it’s also the season for chimney fires.
Typically, the FC&S editors receive several calls a year about chimney fires and attendant coverage issues. Usually, the form in question is the HO-3. This year I got a couple of calls from adjusters who were trying to apply exclusions that really had no bearing on the loss in question.
First question from an adjuster: "Why can’t we call this a friendly fire? After all, it was in the fireplace where it was supposed to be." The FC&S says that a friendly fire is one that is "intentionally set and remains in its intended place." Examples of a friendly fire are a fire in a fireplace or the glow at the end of a cigarette.