Which term describes the failure to exercise reasonable care?

• A. Special Duty
• B. Negligence
• C. Civil Rights Violation
• D. Malfeasance

Answer: (B)

Negligence is the failure to meet the level of care a reasonably prudent person would provide in similar situations. In fire protection, that means acting with reasonable care to protect life and property—inspecting properly, maintaining equipment, and addressing hazards you know about. If someone with a duty to act breaches that duty and someone is harmed as a result, negligence has occurred. The other terms describe different ideas: special duty is a heightened obligation in certain relationships or scenarios, civil rights violation involves infringing protected rights, and malfeasance is illegal or improper conduct by a public official.