← 🔥 Fire guides

Mower and Hot Equipment Fires

A riding mower, leaf blower, chainsaw, or generator is put away hot in a garage or shed, and debris packed around the engine or muffler catches fire. Or a mower throws a spark into dry grass and starts a field fire that spreads to a home or barn. If your insured did it, it's usually an accident with no one to recover from. The recoveries come when someone else was running the equipment: a lawn care company, a landscaper, a neighbor, a tenant, or a repair shop that just worked on it. A defective engine or fuel system also opens a claim against the manufacturer.

What it coversMowers, blowers, and saws put away hot, landscapers, repair shops, recalls

Step-by-step checklist

Identify

Contact the claim adjuster right away. Ask them to hold the scene and for permission to retain an expert at the client's expense. Note the call in the file.
On every claim, ask the client whether they want an origin and cause investigator to review the scene, or confirm one is already assigned. Note their answer in the file so the decision is on record.
Make sure no evidence is touched or moved until the expert has secured the scene
Get the client's approval for the scene exam cost. Most run at least $1,600 with travel, the day rate, and expenses.
Find out who used the equipment last, and when it was put away
Get the make, model, and serial number of the equipment
Ask about recent repairs, blade sharpening, or tune-ups

Hands off until the expert arrives. Nothing at the scene gets touched, moved, repaired, or thrown out until the origin and cause investigator has secured it. Evidence that's moved early can sink the whole recovery.

Notify

Retain an origin-and-cause expert and hold the equipment
Notify the operator, their employer, any repair shop, and the manufacturer
Put their liability carriers on notice

Investigate

Hold a joint scene exam, then a joint equipment exam
Check recalls on CPSC.gov for the equipment
Get the lawn care contract, work order, or rental agreement
Review the expert's report

Demand, negotiate, and settle

Send the demand packet with photos, estimates, invoices, mitigation records, and reports
Follow up, then send the second demand if needed
Review the release, pay the deductible, and close

1. Identify

How these fires start

Grass clippings, leaves, and oil build up around the engine and muffler and catch fire when the equipment is stored hot
A fuel line cracks or a carburetor leaks gas onto a hot engine
Refueling a hot engine, or spilling gas nearby
The mower blade hits a rock and throws sparks into dry grass
The exhaust sits against dry grass, hay, or a wood pile
A battery or charger fails on a battery-powered mower or blower

Is there anyone to recover from?

Who ran the equipment	Recovery?
Your insured	Usually no. It's an accident. Still check for a defect or a recent repair.
A lawn care or landscaping company	Yes. The company and its general liability carrier.
A tenant	Yes. The tenant and their renters policy.
A neighbor or a borrower	Yes. Their homeowners liability coverage.
A repair shop that just worked on it	Yes, if the fire traces to their work.

Responsible parties to consider

Lawn care, landscaping, and tree companies, and their employees
Tenants and their guests
Neighbors or anyone who borrowed the equipment
Repair shops and dealers
The equipment, engine, battery, or fuel system manufacturer
A rental company, for rented equipment

2. Notify and investigate

Keep the equipment. Even burned, the engine and fuel system can show whether a part failed. Photograph it in place and hold it for a joint exam.

Evidence checklist

Photos of where the equipment was stored and what was around it
The equipment itself, held for a joint exam
Timeline: when it was last used, and when it was put away
The lawn care contract, invoices, and the crew's schedule that day
Repair and tune-up records
Weather and burn-ban records, for grass and field fires
Mitigation records

3. Demand, negotiate, and settle

Liability theories: negligent operation or storage, breach of the lawn care contract, negligent repair, and product defect.

Defenses to expect

Defense	How to answer it
Storing a mower in a garage is normal	Storing it hot and packed with debris isn't. Their own manual usually says to let it cool and clean it.
It was an act of nature (dry conditions)	The equipment was the ignition source. Burn bans and dry weather make care more important, not less.
Our crew followed procedure	Ask for their written procedures and training records.

4. Letters for this loss

Step	Letter
Identify	Subrogation Opening Letter to Insured
Notify	Notice of Subrogation Interest and Insurance Request, to Adverse Carrier
Investigate	Evidence Preservation and Joint Scene Exam Notice, Joint Lab Exam Notice
Demand	Subrogation Demand to Adverse Carrier
Negotiate	Second Demand with Escalation Notice
Settle	Release Review Checklist, Deductible Reimbursement