Fire Brigade Charges

imme

ZuppyLurk wrote: »

Seems to be a common belief. Poeple passing fires/rtc etc thinking that if they call that they will be charged.

obviously not.;)

Zuppy

imme wrote: »

obviously not.;)

Just ask any Garda manning the station phones. Our neighbours keep getting calls for us and passing them on. At least it saves us talking to the public.

johnbannon

amadain17 wrote: »

I had an accident at 6.00am in the morning going to work when my car hit black ice and I skidded out of control into a ditch. The car turned onto its side. A car behind me called 999 and an ambulance, police and fire brigade arrived. While I was waiting standing there on the slippy road the gritter passed by me and gritted my feet. I thought nothing of this until this morning when a bill arrived from wicklow co co for €1087 for fire services. Now 1. I never called the fire brigade, 2. They were not needed as the car was not on fire and I did not need to be cut out or anything (the car hit the ditch sideways on the glasslike road surface). The fire brigade actually did nothing except turn up. The bill for over €1000 for not actually doing anything except turn up uninvited is amazing to me. What happens if I refuse to pay? Do the council have the right to bring me to court over this?

Amadain17, did you ever get this resolved, my son had exactly the same issue as you around christmas time, some passer by called it in, but now my sons received a bill from the fire service for €675!

50euro

johnbannon wrote: »

Amadain17, did you ever get this resolved, my son had exactly the same issue as you around christmas time, some passer by called it in, but now my sons received a bill from the fire service for €675!

The charge is normally covered by your insurance company, although they may have a limit- say €1000. If you can't claim from your insurance company then go into your local fire service headquarters and talk to them. If it is a case that the fire service was not needed then you can reason with them. But like mentioned no point looking on here, go talk to them.

The fire service charges are set a local level so if you want it to change then best to lobby your local councillors T.D.'s etc.

The fire service cannot operate on a basis of finding out if they are needed or not. They get called, they answer the call.

And the comments that the caller gets charged for making the call is 100% wrong!! Charges are different depending on the county. Granted there should be a national fixed price, and i do believe that the service should be free. It is expensive for local councils to operate the service and they do try to pass the cost on but mainly it is aimed at insurance companies paying the cost.

johnbannon

Thanks 50euro, we'll talk to them and see what happens. will let you know.

Zuppy

Sorry. In case my post was misunderstood.

The charge goes to the beneficial user of the service. Not the caller.

angelfire9

amadain17 wrote: »

If angelfire9 is reading this thread still can you tell me how you got on with the fire brigade charges? Have you paid them yet? Did the council try to take you to court over them?

Amazingly enough I am awaiting the court date

Our man in Havana

Which I doubt will ever happen.

ZuppyLurk

ZuppyLurk wrote: »

Sorry. In case my post was misunderstood.

The charge goes to the beneficial user of the service. Not the caller.

What if it's a fire called in by someone but there isn't a beneficial user? ie; a ditch or old abandoned house goes up in flames?

timmywex

Deleted User wrote: »

What if it's a fire called in by someone but there isn't a beneficial user? ie; a ditch or old abandoned house goes up in flames?

Presuming said ditch would be no one's property, therefore being the councils, no one gets charged

kravmaga

angelfire9 wrote: »

Just wondering if anyone here knows what the story is with being charged for the fire brigade attending a house fire?
Unfortunately my house went up in smoke on monday morning so obviously i had to call 999 for fire service, my household insurance policy does not include charges for fire brigade (go figure!) So I'm just wondering what it might set me back?
As an aside i always thought they only charged for hoax call outs?

And before anyone says it i know i should be grateful that my daughter & I got out ok (himself was at work) but the consolation is minimal when you see the damage the fire caused

If your husband is a member of AGS as you stated in another post he should be able to find this out?

angelfire9

blueeyedboy wrote: »

If your husband is a member of AGS as you stated in another post he should be able to find this out?

All done & dusted now
Awaiting summons to arrive in the mail so that I can go to court and dispute the staggering amount claimed by the council for the "service"

Our man in Havana

I doubt they will bother to summons you. I am still waiting over 5 years for one over a fire brigade charge.

Shield

Is there a statue of limitations on this charge?

Our man in Havana

6 Years.

angelfire9

psni wrote: »

Is there a statue of limitations on this charge?

Is it not a debt collection?
Do debts come under the statute of limitations???

Our man in Havana

Yes, they most certainly do. The council has 6 years to obtain a judgement.

john.west

Hi all, Had a situation in the last few days where I had to call a Fire brigade to a attend a goarse type fire in an elderly relations land. No damage done as its just wasteland and the concern was to contol the fire and stop it spreading. I'm just wondering now who can expect to recieve the bill. It was previously mentioned in the thread that the beneficial owner could expect to receive the bill but I'm unsure how this information is acquired and this person billed. Would the county council check a land register to find out who owns the land? Do they come out following the fire and make an inspection to find out the plot of land involved or do the fireman relay this information back? Also beneficial owner?... The land owner has not derived any benefit from this particular patch of land for many many years. I was asked who owned the land on the phone and only provided a surname of which there would be more people with the same surname in the area. He does not have the land insured. Oh and it is County Limerick by the way.

Apoligies if I appear very green on this subject but very green is what I am!

Our man in Havana

They normally ask who owns the land or they pass it onto the councils legal dept to obtain the information.

pjordan

The question of "Do you know who owns the property" or a variant of same is a standard question in all geographically fixed incidents asked by all Fire Emergency Control Rooms in the country. It is in part intended to assist in billing if billing proves possible, however Local Authorities (those that levy charges for such callouts - the true farce of this is that it depends on where you live in the country on whether you are billed or not) usually exercise discretion in cases of inability to pay and possible mistake identity.

Given the huge incidence of Gorse Fires (in 90% of cases most likely started on purpose by the landowner) during the months of March to June I would be in favour of billing those responsible for callouts to such fires whether or not they call the fire brigade. There is still a agricultural exemption for what is termed control burning which requires the person doing such burning to apply to the local authority for a permit to carry it out and then notify fire control via 999 upon commencement and completion of the burning so as to prevent unnecessary mobilisation of the fire service due to calls from members of the public. If there is evidence if a fire accidently or maliciously started then the landowner is very likely to be exempted from any charges which is fire if there is any sauch suspicion then the Gardai should also be informed.

Zambia

Very rarely do I read posts and be aghast at the content.

This is shocking that these charges are levied in the cases of fire and accidents.

The figures quoted are indeed possibly reflective of the cost of the call out but that is the whole reason you pay taxes. the normal man on the street can not afford to pay for their own ES facility.

In the case of fire discouraging people from ringing 999 puts other property's at risk.

Fining hoaxers yes
Charges for false alarms on businesses yes (gives them incentive to keep alarms maintained)

best of luck to those fighting these charges.

Agent Smith

Paulzx wrote: »

No. 1 - Young kid makes a call out of curiousty. Stupid and innocent enough to ring from the house phone. A quick call back to the house and the parents are told what has happened. You then here a crying kid in the background as Mammy slaps the arse of him. No more bogus calls. No charges required. Lesson learnt

I'm Not in the Emergancy Services, But My god, I'll never forget the beating my mother gave me for that.

I was about 6 and called 999 (after seeing it on some tv program)
Didnt make up an address or anything, i think i just kept saying hello

They called back, my mum Answered....

Citygirl1

Hi all

Does anyone have any updated information regarding fire brigade charges in Dublin city?

There was a fire at the back of my house around 7 weeks ago (3 am), which was started deliberately:mad:. I think up to three fire engines arrived, though just one was needed in the end.

We haven't received any bill as yet, and I am trying to work out if I should expect one, and if so what it might amount to?

Our man in Havana

There are no charges in Dublin.

dfbemt

Haddockman wrote: »

There are no charges in Dublin.

Yet !!!!!

Zuppy

dfbemt wrote: »

Yet !!!!!

jos28

Haddockman wrote: »

There are no charges in Dublin.

Can anyone verify if this is true. My son's car went on fire this week with him in it :eek:. Thankfully he escaped without injury. Ironically it happened just outside a Fire Station. He dialled 999 and they put the fire out. Will he be charged ?
I really hope not, he does not want to claim on his insurance as it would cost him a fortune to get insured without his no claims bonus. The poor bloke has lost his car, 3 months car tax (€155) and various bits that were in the car. I am just delighted that he is ok but he is really p1ssed off about the financial hammering.

ivabiggon

jos28 wrote: »

Can anyone verify if this is true. My son's car went on fire this week with him in it :eek:. Thankfully he escaped without injury. Ironically it happened just outside a Fire Station. He dialled 999 and they put the fire out. Will he be charged ?
I really hope not, he does not want to claim on his insurance as it would cost him a fortune to get insured without his no claims bonus. The poor bloke has lost his car, 3 months car tax (€155) and various bits that were in the car. I am just delighted that he is ok but he is really p1ssed off about the financial hammering.

there are no charges in the dublin region, outside what fire station did it go on fire?

jos28

ivabiggon wrote: »

there are no charges in the dublin region, outside what fire station did it go on fire?

Kilbarrack Station on Friday morning, they could have aimed from the station and put the fire out!

purple pyramid

A coupla years later and things have changed somewhat. I started a fire in the kitchen of my gaff in Bray by accident (needless to say!) recently and got it under control within about 30 seconds. Directly afterwards I opened the windows to let the smoke out, but a passer-by saw the smoke escaping and called the fire brigade unbeknownst to me, which arrived in due course along with an ambulance and the cops, God bless them all.
A month or so later I got a bill for E750-odd. While there is no question that I appreciate the fire & ambulance service and the great work they do, I didn't call them at all and I think E750 is a crazy fee. I would have thought this was a civic right, not withdrawn to pay for our addiction to the avarice of the banking, political, and civil service cartels. Anybody dealt with the situation of not calling them and being charged anyway?