Signorelli

Plaintiffs brought this action to recover damages for the destruction of their personal property in an explosion and fire allegedly caused by defendants’ negligence in filling plaintiffs ’ butane storage tank. Defendants alleged that plaintiffs were eontributively negligent in maintaining the tank within dangerous proximity of a stove and hot water heater with a pilot light. The court, sitting without a jury, entered judgment for plaintiffs. Defendants appeal.

About seven years before the fire, plaintiffs had a 50-gallon butane storage tank installed outside a house near Santa Maria that they occupied as tenants. A stove and hot water heater with a pilot light were inside the house a few inches from the tank and separated from it by a wall of 1 inch by 12 inch board and batten construction. A pipe through a hole in the wall connected the tank with the heater and stove. Butane is a liquefied petroleum gas and has a distinct odor. It is liquefied under pressure and is transported in liquid form. It is a gas when the pressure is released and is heavier than air. When it escapes, it seeks a low level and drifts with the wind. It is inflammable, explosive, and highly volatile. Those…