Firefighter suits and helmets
The New Jersey Supreme Court has declined to hear an insurance carrier’s appeal of a decision holding that it must provide coverage to a Newark firefighter who fell through a glass panel on a roof while responding to a fire.
The court issued an order denying a petition for certification on Oct. 20.
The denial leaves intact an Appellate Division ruling from last May that said the policy written by Travelers Insurance Co. was meant to cover the premises of the building, even though there was an agreement that the building’s owner would maintain the roof.
According to the Appellate Division decision, Newark Battalion Chief Kevin Killeen was injured on July 26, 2009. He was responding to a fire on Sherman Avenue. In order to reach the fire, Killeen was on the roof of an adjacent building on Branford Street owned by NSPC Inc. and leased by Jensen & Mitchell Inc., a truck repair facility.
As he was walking on the roof of the NSPC building, he stepped on and fell through a glass panel. He sustained serious injuries to his back, shoulder, pelvis and hip, and was forced to retire, he claimed.
