Wash. Rev. Code » Title 4 · Chapter 4.24
Revised Code of Washington

Wash. Rev. Code § 4.24.040 (2026)

Action for negligently permitting fire to spread

✓ current as of May 2026
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Except as provided in RCW 76.04.760, if any person shall for any lawful purpose kindle a fire upon his or her own land, he or she shall do it at such time and in such manner, and shall take such care of it to prevent it from spreading and doing damage to other persons' property, as a prudent and careful person would do, and if he or she fails so to do he or she shall be liable in an action on the case to any person suffering damage thereby to the full amount of such damage.
[ 2014 c 81 s 2; 2009 c 549 s 1001; Code 1881 s 1226; 1877 p 300 s 3; RRS s 5647.]

Notes:

Reviser's note: The words "on the case" appear in the 1877 law and in the 1881 enrolled bill but were inadvertently omitted from the printed Code of 1881. See also Pettigrew v. McCoy-Loggie Timber Co., 138 Wash. 619, 245 P. 22 (1926).
Authority of chapter—Application—2014 c 81: See notes following RCW 76.04.760.
Arson, reckless burning, and malicious mischief: Chapter 9A.48 RCW.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases, 2012–2015 · leading case: Jongeward v. BNSF Ry. Co., 278 P.3d 157 (Wash. 2012).
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Jongeward v. BNSF Ry. Co., 278 P.3d 157 (Wash. 2012). · cites it 3× “" RCW 4.24.040. The fire act also expressly preserves "[t]he common law right to an action for damages done by fires.”
Broughton Lumber Co. v. BNSF Ry. Co., 278 P.3d 173 (Wash. 2012). · cites it 4× “" RCW 4.24.040. The fire act also expressly preserves "[t]he common law right to an action for damages done by fires.”
Clinesmith Cattle Co., Inc. v. Kinch Farms, Inc. (Wash. Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 2× “RCW 4.24.040. Also addressing the issue, RCW 76.”
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