Young Zündler set up garage - fire brigade!

Young Zündler set up garage - fire brigade!

In the Cologne neighborhood, an incident caused excitement on Saturday evening: three boys between the ages of 9 and 12 set up an armchair in an open garage on the Kopernikusweg. According to the news.de occurred because the children played with a drummer. The damage incurred is estimated at around 100 euros, but this may only be the tip of the iceberg, because additional costs for the fire service are expected.

The question arose for the residents: Who is for the damage? Information on the liability of children and parents can be found in Elze in a similar case, where two boys also sparked a fire. The city of Elze requested the costs of the fire service of around 38,000 euros from the parents of the children. The mother of one of the boys complained about the fee notice, but could not convince. The court stated that the children could be held responsible for grossly negligent action. In particular, the stacking of a friend to ignite a fire was considered a serious mistake. However, the judgment of the children, which is assumed from a certain age, is usually necessary for this assessment from the age of nine, so bfb .

The responsibility of the parents

The parents of the adolescents concerned are obliged to do so, because they are liable if they violate their duty of supervision. In many cases, parents argue that they have not allowed the offspring to play the youngsters, but it often depends on the individual case. This also takes into account whether the supervision of the age and experience of the child has been adequately adapted. A judgment teaches us that in the case of judgment capable children who cause damage, the responsibility ultimately remains with the parents, as long as they are considered to be subject to supervisory and do not fulfill this obligation. It could be similar in Cologne if the parents of the crashed boys cannot prove that they have taken sufficient precautions.

So what follows from these events? It is not only a call to vigilance, but also a memory that playing with fire can not only be dangerous, but also costly. Parents are well advised to deal intensively with the risks and to sensitize their children. After all, not only material damage, but also the future of some children can be at stake when there are high damage to the house. For the affected parents of the Cologne boys, it is now said: Take care and take responsibility.

For future cases, it remains to be seen how the legal framework in similar situations are interpreted in both Cologne and elsewhere. Ultimately, everyone involved must learn from such incidents in order to prevent future fire cases.