Seeley

J.—Defendant Combs appeals from a judgment against him and in plaintiffs’ favor 1 for damages for the destruction by fire of a barn and certain other property. The court, sitting without a jury, found that the fire was caused by the negligence of defendant Combs in operating a truck rented from the codefendant The Hertz Corporation. Appellant Combs attacks this judgment, mainly on the ground that the findings are not supported by the evidence. Such a judgment, when attacked on evidentiary grounds, must be affirmed when there is any evidence, direct or circumstantial, to support the findings of the trial court. Stated negatively, such a judgment cannot be reversed unless there is no evidence, direct or circumstantial, to support the findings. These rules are elementary.

In the instant case there was no direct evidence as to what caused the fire to start. Such evidence as exists is entirely circumstantial, and largely based on the inferences permissible under the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur. Appellant Combs asked for and secured from the trial court specific findings of *130 negligence and proximate cause under section 634 of the Code of Civil Procedure. The appellant seems to…

I dissent. In my opinion the evidence in this case totally fails to support the trial court’s special finding that the fire was caused by the negligence of defendant Combs in driving the truck into the barn “which contained infiam *136 mable material, to wit: loose hay and straw at which time hot gas and sparks emanated from the exhaust system of the truck, which caused the said hay to ignite. . . . ” 1

No witness was produced who saw the fire start. Although obviously “hot gas” emanates from an exhaust pipe while any internal combustion engine is running, there was no evidence whatever that such gases would cause the hay to ignite or that defendant’s truck gave off sparks from its exhaust system at the time of the fire or at any other time. On the contrary, the only evidence on the subject showed that the vehicle was properly equipped with a muffler, which operated to lower the exhaust pressure, cool the gases, and arrest sparks. Such a muffler has been declared by statute in California (Pub. Resources Code, § 4167) to be an adequate spark arresting device for use on trucks operated on forest, brush, or grass-covered lands even during periods of unusual fire hazard…