A California man has filed suit against the City of Oakland and the Oakland Fire Department over damage his pickup sustained when the driver’s door of Engine 18 was opened as he passed the apparatus at an emergency scene. But did the suit ignore an important law?

Jose Gloria Reyes filed suit in Alameda County Superior Court, alleging motor-vehicle negligence and general negligence. The complaint names the City, the fire department, and twenty unidentified defendants.

According to the complaint, Reyes was driving his 2024 Ford F-250 southbound at approximately 10 mph when he approached Oakland Engine 18, which was parked along the west curb. The police report attached to the complaint states that Engine 18 had been dispatched to an apartment building at 3801 High Street. FF Dewayne Fred Gray told the investigating officer that he was seated in the driver’s seat as other members of Engine 18 exited the apartment complex carrying equipment back to the apparatus.

According to the report, FF Gray wanted to assist the crew with the equipment. He checked his driver-side mirror, saw Reyes’ pickup some distance away, and believed he had enough time to exit. He then opened the driver’s door fully.

Reyes gave a different account of the point of impact. He told the investigating officer that as he passed the engine, its driver’s door opened and struck the passenger-side front fender of his pickup. The complaint alleges FF Gray opened the door “suddenly and without warning” and failed to ensure that it was safe to do so. It relies upon California Vehicle Code Section 22517, which provides:

• No person shall open the door of a vehicle on the side available to moving traffic unless it is reasonably safe to do so and can be done without interfering with the movement of such traffic, nor shall any person leave a door open on the side of a vehicle available to moving traffic for a period of time longer than necessary to load or unload passengers.

The investigating officer found moderate damage along the passenger side of the pickup and minor damage to Engine 18’s driver’s door. No witnesses were identified, and the officer reported finding no video recording of the collision. The officer concluded that FF Gray was at fault for opening a vehicle door adjacent to moving traffic when it was not safe to do so.

FF Gray told the officer that he could not determine whether Reyes was speeding but believed he had allowed enough time to exit before the pickup reached the engine. The report lists the posted speed limit as 25 mph. Reyes maintained that he was traveling approximately 10 mph and was not using his cellphone.

Reyes submitted a claim to the City stating that he incurred more than $25,000 in repair costs, was without the pickup for two months, continued making vehicle and insurance payments during that period, and sustained a loss in the truck’s value. An invoice attached to the complaint lists total repairs of approximately $26,400. The complaint seeks compensatory damages according to proof and asserts that the City is responsible for Firefighter Gray’s conduct because he was acting within the course and scope of his employment.

Oddly enough, neither Reyes nor the investigating police officer appear to have been aware of a rather obscure, but highly relevant law that most states have, affectionately referred to by Fire Law attorneys as the “same block” rule/law. These laws predate the more modern “slow down or move over laws,” and prohibit traffic from operating on the same block where fire apparatus is operating at an emergency scene.

California Vehicle Code Section 21707 provides:

• No motor vehicle, except an authorized emergency vehicle or a vehicle of a duly authorized member of a fire or police department, shall be operated within the block wherein an emergency situation responded to by any fire department vehicle exists, except that in the event the nearest intersection to the emergency is more than 300 feet therefrom, this section shall prohibit operation of vehicles only within 300 feet of the emergency, unless directed to do so by a member of the fire department or police department, sheriff, deputy sheriff, or member of the California Highway Patrol.

The statute further provides that the emergency continues until the fire department official in charge indicates that it has ended.

Reyes’ complaint appears to have been prepared without knowledge of the same-block rule. His own allegations admit he drove past Engine 18 while its crew was operating at an emergency scene. The complaint does not state whether Engine 18’s emergency lights were operating, but Section 21707 does not make emergency-light activation a condition of the prohibition (which most “move over” laws do).

Here is a copy of the complaint: