Charged 350 euro for Fire Brigade to show up and leave.

Magaa

So around 7 months ago my chimley went on fire and i called the Fire Brigade.
They arrived and spent 5 minutes shoving a broom up the chimney and left.

Now today i recieve a 350 euro bill.

Is this a joke? :mad:



Does anyone else have similar storys of being charged this amount?

sadman18

It's not a joke. You have to pay for the fire brigade in certain counties. I know in County Cork and Dublin the service is free.

Morag

IT is up to you to maintain and clean your chimney, if you don't they go on fire,
so it's your fault it happened, same fee applies if you start a bone fire in your garden and there is a call out.

Magaa

what will happen if i can literally not afford the 350 euro?


Its not me who owes the money its my mother and were very short on cash

I am a friend

Yep and if they hadnt come out there would be more than €350 worth of damage....

Morag

If you don't pay it they will follow it up and eventually you will have a court summons.

ppink

you do have ot pay for calling the fire service and like I am a Friend says it would have been a lot more out of your pocket if they had not come.

Count yourself lucky you did not call them after getting injured and stranded........€700 call out fee for a friend of mine:eek:

Maple

Moved from PI,

Maple

Jagle

your house insurance should cover this cost, did when our chimney went up in flames last christmas

Magaa

Maple wrote: »

Moved from PI,

Maple

Im very sorry i couldent find a suitable area to post it,



Yeah i dont have a clue what were gonna do because we cant afford it

keysersoze0330

I seen a bill for same for €800 in the Monaghan area 2 months past. House Insurance, pay the bill. Be thankful it was sorted in time.

ravima

If you are a genuine hardship case, then all to whoever sent the bill and explain your circumstances.

As others pointed out, had you not called them, you might have faced more than €350 damage. What would you have done then?

If you are insured, contact your insurers?

TylerIE

Just if your insured and have a no claims bonus, it could affect you similar to losing your no claims bonus on your car insurance.

I looked at it for an elderly neighbour a few years ago and overall they would have paid back twice the price of the call over the following years (their insurer kindly quoted me)... Their insurance quote almost doubled the following year and it would have taken them the 5 years to get it back to its reduced amount.

As others stated you could contact them and explain that your a genuine hardship case - in the above instance the County only charged for one appliance (two appliances were sent, one each from two equidistant towns and the first on scene cancelled the second appliance). They also were willing to take payment in installments.


Also if your mother is elderly I would most respectfully suggest looking at ways of avoiding a re-currance - chimney liner or moving fully to central heating. The above house had 4 fires in about 3 years (2 requiring fire brigade) as the elderly householder couldnt manage the fire safely - it only stopped when they lined the chimnney.

Otis Driftwood

All home insurance policies cover fire brigade call out charges however you will likely be charged the excess - probably 250/300 - which means you will only get 100 bucks or less plus likely lose any no claims bonus you have earned pushing your premium up for the next couple of years so it would cost you alot more in the long run.

Plus,as it was 7 months ago and you probably didnt inform your insurer at the time then its unlikely it would be covered anyway.

Fire brigades charge different rates in different counties,each set by the local authorities.

It can be calculated in various ways like

number of men X number of engines X time taken from leaving the station til the engine returns.

There are other ways of calculating it too.

Best bet would be ring your local authority and see what they have to say.They may have an installment plan that might suit you but certainly dont ignore it as it will likely lead to legal repercussions.

angelfire9

Otis Driftwood wrote: »

All home insurance policies cover fire brigade call out charges however you will likely be charged the excess - probably 250/300 - which means you will only get 100 bucks or less plus likely lose any no claims bonus you have earned pushing your premium up for the next couple of years so it would cost you alot more in the long run.

ACTUALLY NOT ALL INSURANCE POLICIES COVER FIRE BRIGADE CHARGES!
Read the small print!

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=56306505&postcount=1

Now, to answer the OP's Question:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=56392396&postcount=12

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=57831628&postcount=22

Goonerdee

You're charged for the fire brigade to come and rescue your home!?!?!? How awful!

Paulzx

Magaa wrote: »

So around 7 months ago my chimley went on fire and i called the Fire Brigade.
They arrived and spent 5 minutes shoving a broom up the chimney and left.

Now today i recieve a 350 euro bill.

Is this a joke? :mad:



Does anyone else have similar storys of being charged this amount?

First off i don't agree with Fire Brigade charges.

Nothwithstanding that your thread title "charged 350 euro for Fire Brigade to show up and leave" is completely inaccurate.

The Fire crew didn't just show up outside your house and feck off without doing anything.

The checked your chimney using chimney rods (not a broom) and probably a stirrup pump and extingushed any remaining fire.

If the chimney fire was already extingushed before they arrived it is irrellevant. The mere fact of them properly checking that it was in safe state gave peace of mind to your family.

Your thread title implies they rocked up to your house, fecked off and then sent you a bill for 350 quid for nothing.

angelfire9

Goonerdee wrote: »

You're charged for the fire brigade to come and rescue your home!?!?!? How awful!

Yep a €1900 bill which from what I can see wouldn't be covered by most insurance companies the most that is usually covered is around €1500 but as I said not all insurers include FB charges at all!

I had to call them I live in a semi D if I hadn't called them it would have been alot worse and believe me it was bad!

But €1900 is crazy money to charge for an emergency service IMHO notwithstanding the fact that I had other issues with them on the night

Goonerdee

I never knew the fire brigade charged any sort of fee. Up here in NI the only time the fire brigade charges a call out fee, is to comercial premises when it is found a member of staff has set off the fire alarm when there is no fire. Even persistent nuisance cases aren't charged unless it is serious enough to end in court.

I take it firemen down South don't rescue trapped pets/animals without the caller having to pay for it either?

angelfire9

Goonerdee wrote: »

I never knew the fire brigade charged any sort of fee. Up here in NI the only time the fire brigade charges a call out fee, is to comercial premises when it is found a member of staff has set off the fire alarm when there is no fire. Even persistent nuisance cases aren't charged unless it is serious enough to end in court.

I take it firemen down South don't rescue trapped pets/animals without the caller having to pay for it either?

In general I don't know, they did rescue my cat from the house but he had to be PTS afterwards his lungs were fecked with the smoke poor thing

skelliser

You have to wonder what we pay taxes for?!

Eru

skelliser wrote: »

You have to wonder what we pay taxes for?!

how much tax do you pay? You think it really covers
fire brigade,
police,
ambulance,
customs officers,
revenue officers
judges
dpp
chief state solicitors
court service
prison officers
probation service
maintenance of all buildings
maintenance of all vehicles
prisoners
social welfare
nurses
doctors
midwives
social workers
teachers
sna's
passport office
embassies abroad
childrens facilities
the multitude of ombudsmen and their offices
government
army
navy
air corp
dublin bus (which runs at a loss btw)
civil defence
maintenance personnel in schools, hospitals, etc
an teasce
department of education
In fact lets just say all clerical sectors of the civil service to save typing more

That's what springs to mind, apologies to all the staff and agencies I missed.

I doubt very much that charging each person 350 per call out would cover the cost of having the service nor do I think taxes should be increased to cover people that don't bother to take preventative steps.

angelfire9

Eru wrote: »

how much tax do you pay? You think it really covers

I doubt very much that charging each person 350 per call out would cover the cost of having the service nor do I think taxes should be increased to cover people that don't bother to take preventative steps.

And charging someone €1900 means that I have to foot the bill for the wages of the fire staff who attended my house that evening
And that is fair in your opinion?

Pray tell what "preventative steps" could I have taken to prevent a socket in my wall igniting & sending sparks along the conduit to ignite small fires behind other sockets which eventually lead to several slightly bigger fires in different parts of my kitchen eventually engulfing the entire room & damn near the entire house while I was asleep at 2am?
Note the socket that started the whole debacle was the cooker control switch and was badly wired
The house was less than 2 years old when I bought it and was fully inspected prior to purchase

TylerIE

angelfire9 wrote: »

And charging someone €1900 means that I have to foot the bill for the wages of the fire staff who attended my house that evening
And that is fair in your opinion?

Pray tell what "preventative steps" could I have taken to prevent a socket in my wall igniting & sending sparks along the conduit to ignite small fires behind other sockets which eventually lead to several slightly bigger fires in different parts of my kitchen eventually engulfing the entire room & damn near the entire house while I was asleep at 2am?
Note the socket that started the whole debacle was the cooker control switch and was badly wired
The house was less than 2 years old when I bought it and was fully inspected prior to purchase

Normally the fees barely cover the costs of staff involved in your actual call-out. Taxes cover the training, equipment, diesel usually, station, management, the 999 operators, etc...

I worked in the States where when Fuel prices went up in 2008 some fire departments (That didnt charge) started refusing some non-domestic fire calls, and most small rural fires, as they couldnt afford the fuel involved (and that was with volunteer firefighters).

While I sympathized with my neighbour (earlier post) I was, and they were, delighted that they had the ability to call the Fire Brigade to assist. They were also (despite being a state pensioner) only glad that they could cover some of the cost involved.

If there was an electrical fault is it possible that there was faulty wiring or equipment that wasnt detected by whoever did the building inspection for you?

skelliser

Eru wrote: »

how much tax do you pay? You think it really covers
fire brigade,
police,
ambulance,
customs officers,
revenue officers
judges
dpp
chief state solicitors
court service
prison officers
probation service
maintenance of all buildings
maintenance of all vehicles
prisoners
social welfare
nurses
doctors
midwives
social workers
teachers
sna's
passport office
embassies abroad
childrens facilities
the multitude of ombudsmen and their offices
government
army
navy
air corp
dublin bus (which runs at a loss btw)
civil defence
maintenance personnel in schools, hospitals, etc
an teasce
department of education
In fact lets just say all clerical sectors of the civil service to save typing more

That's what springs to mind, apologies to all the staff and agencies I missed.

I doubt very much that charging each person 350 per call out would cover the cost of having the service nor do I think taxes should be increased to cover people that don't bother to take preventative steps.

The air must be thin being so high up on your horse!!

If anything these "call out" charges kinda defeat the purpose, you would swear the fire brigade should never leave the station.
Better yet why not bring the fire to them!

Seriously tho, god forbid someone might not ring the fire brigade for fear of being charged and a tragedy occurs.

btw i have the upmost respect for frontline public servants.

angelfire9

lst wrote: »

Normally the fees barely cover the costs of staff involved in your actual call-out. Taxes cover the training, equipment, diesel usually, station, management, the 999 operators, etc...

I worked in the States where when Fuel prices went up in 2008 some fire departments (That didnt charge) started refusing some non-domestic fire calls, and most small rural fires, as they couldnt afford the fuel involved (and that was with volunteer firefighters).

While I sympathized with my neighbour (earlier post) I was, and they were, delighted that they had the ability to call the Fire Brigade to assist. They were also (despite being a state pensioner) only glad that they could cover some of the cost involved.

If there was an electrical fault is it possible that there was faulty wiring or equipment that wasnt detected by whoever did the building inspection for you?

Yes... it is currently moving slowly through the legal system

PhatPiggins

If I call the fire brigade for someone else am I liable for the fee's or does the recipiant of their services get charged?

TylerIE

angelfire9 wrote: »

Yes... it is currently moving slowly through the legal system

Therefore there is preventative steps that should have been taken, in this case not by you. However that person will hopefully be found liable for all costs - including fire brigade costs.

I do sympathize with your situation, and I would love if we could have a Nationwide Free Fire Service, however I agree with ERU in that our *relatively* lower taxes have enough to pay for, and we are lucky that they pay for the infrastructure for a fire service that we can call on and get a good response in most parts of the country within a reasonable timeframe.

Shield

Warning issued for this comment. Attack the post, not the poster.

No further comment on this post please and thanks.

Back on topic.

skelliser wrote: »

The air must be thin being so high up on your horse!!

angelfire9

lst wrote: »

Therefore there is preventative steps that should have been taken, in this case not by you. However that person will hopefully be found liable for all costs - including fire brigade costs.

I do sympathize with your situation, and I would love if we could have a Nationwide Free Fire Service, however I agree with ERU in that our *relatively* lower taxes have enough to pay for, and we are lucky that they pay for the infrastructure for a fire service that we can call on and get a good response in most parts of the country within a reasonable timeframe.

By the time it gets to court my eldest daughter will be in college (she is 9 now)


At the end of the day a nominal fee is reasonable and certainly for a chimney fire I would expect it
But charging almost 2 grand to attend a serious house fire where there are flames billowing out windows and smoke pouring out around the door frames of a timber framed semi detached house is a bit Irish IMHO

TylerIE

PhatPiggins wrote: »

If I call the fire brigade for someone else am I liable for the fee's or does the recipiant of their services get charged?

The age old debate - I know callers who have got the bill, and I know callers who have been sent the bill by the service recipients (who felt that they didnt need/ call / want the fire service so shouldnt have to pay).

I think the "Beneficial user" is meant to get the bill... So if you call for a tree on the road the land-owner of where the tree came from will probably get the bill, even though your the road user etc.

I called not too long ago for a car that was apparently on fire and had the occupant in it a few seconds beforehand. Unbeknownst to me and the witnesses the occupant and children had got out and car had rolled and started smoking.

Occupants first question or comment, isnt thanks for potentially saving my family's life - instead it was "who pays for fire brigade". They didnt apparently recognize the gravity of what it appeared had happened, and would have been happier we wasted time making sure there was someone in the car to get burnt to death before getting help...

Despite their best efforts to the contrary (and I told them to send me the bill if thats all they were bothered about) Id always call first and worry about the bill later....

puzzle factory

I got a bill for 1800eu after a car accident,no way could i afford it,went in to the fire station in tralee and explained i couldnt afford it,that was 2004,never heard from them again.

angelfire9

Ironically my hubby was in an RTA last year (other driver admitted liability)
Both drivers got bills from the Fire service for attending the scene (only one fire engine attended)
Both bills were for circa €1200
Neither driver had to be cut out of their respective vehicles
There was no glass or oil on the road for them to clean up
They basically turned up had a look and drove back to the station
Hubby was gone in the ambulance before they got there but my brother in law (who lives down the road from the scene) had arrived & was there cleaning out the valuables from hubby's car before it got towed to the garda station

Now, granted the insurance company of the driver at fault will be settling both bills (i would imagine) but I thought it was kinda looney that they were charging almost €2500 for turning up at a scene


Maybe its just Clare County Council who like sending out these kind of bills?

Leo Demidov

Wrong!

Best money you will ever spend.

Keywords: Serious, housefire, fire, billowing, doorsframes, windows, timberframe?

TylerIE

angelfire9 wrote: »

Ironically my hubby was in an RTA last year (other driver admitted liability)
Both drivers got bills from the Fire service for attending the scene (only one fire engine attended)
Both bills were for circa €1200
Neither driver had to be cut out of their respective vehicles
There was no glass or oil on the road for them to clean up
They basically turned up had a look and drove back to the station
Hubby was gone in the ambulance before they got there but my brother in law (who lives down the road from the scene) had arrived & was there cleaning out the valuables from hubby's car before it got towed to the garda station

Now, granted the insurance company of the driver at fault will be settling both bills (i would imagine) but I thought it was kinda looney that they were charging almost €2500 for turning up at a scene


Maybe its just Clare County Council who like sending out these kind of bills?

You can expect similar bills from fire services in the North East and Midlands IIRC.

Fire Services charge full whack for RTCs as its the insurance company who will pay. Most collisions arent accidents so somebody's at fault, its felt that the insurance is there to pay the cost of their actions. Iv often heard of bills circa e1800 for Road Traffic Incidents. For your husbands collision its safe to assume that there were two appliances initially dispatched, plus scene safety vehicles, so probably 10 firefighters (Retained). There was probably an initial hour rate of €40 each, more at nights and weekends, so thats €800 of your bill straight away. The balance may be an apportionment of yearly overheads plus diesel, etc...

Im sure you would agree that while a housefire may deserve compassion regarding fees, a road collision with someone at fault does not.

Leo Demidov

Granted, the fees might seem excessive, but it does appear that no county or city fire service makes a profit, maybe they are trying to recoup genuine expense. Value for money, you will not get. The "system" eats money. Imagine what one would have to pay for any of the other emergency services (which are covered solely by direct taxation).

angelfire9

wexfjord wrote: »

Wrong!

Best money you will ever spend.

Keywords: Serious, housefire, fire, billowing, doorsframes, windows, timberframe?

My entire estate is timber framed, the lads in ennis know this... didn't make a difference to my 30 minute waiting time though.... but that's another issue...

Leo Demidov

lst wrote: »

There was probably an initial hour rate of €40 each, more at nights and weekends, so thats €800 of your bill straight away. The balance may be an apportionment of yearly overheads plus diesel, etc.

They are worth twice that before anyone interjects.

Leo Demidov

angelfire9 wrote: »

My entire estate is timber framed, the lads in ennis know this... didn't make a difference to my 30 minute waiting time though.... but that's another issue...

Why mention it then?

angelfire9

lst wrote: »

You can expect similar bills from fire services in the North East and Midlands IIRC.

Fire Services charge full whack for RTCs as its the insurance company who will pay. Most collisions arent accidents so somebody's at fault, its felt that the insurance is there to pay the cost of their actions. Iv often heard of bills circa e1800 for Road Traffic Incidents. For your husbands collision its safe to assume that there were two appliances initially dispatched, plus scene safety vehicles, so probably 10 firefighters (Retained). There was probably an initial hour rate of €40 each, more at nights and weekends, so thats €800 of your bill straight away. The balance may be an apportionment of yearly overheads plus diesel, etc...

Im sure you would agree that while a housefire may deserve compassion regarding fees, a road collision with someone at fault does not.

Nope.... 1 appliance as that was all that was available
Scene safety vehicles... in the back ass of nowhere I think not :rolleyes:
3 fire fighters (retained)
midweek 8pm so night time charge applies

€2500... = Clare County council acting the maggot

TylerIE

angelfire9 wrote: »

My entire estate is timber framed, the lads in ennis know this... didn't make a difference to my 30 minute waiting time though.... but that's another issue...

Seemingly we are over-populated with fire services.

Im not on a high horse, Iv waited 35 minutes at fatal incidents (note plural) 100m from my house for the fire service, but I understand that like any emergency service they cant be everywhere all the time.

Most retained services are given 5-10 minutes to get to station, so if your 15/20km from the station on rural roads that easily makes the 30 minute response time.

If they know life or limb is threatened, like all ES personnell, they will do their best to get there as quick as possible while still aiming to arrive alive.

A fire appliance costs 250k plus, we cant have them in every town and village if we want the state to fund the service.

Leo Demidov

to be honest, if I were you, I would try and defray any expense relating to a fire in my home and my my deepest sympathies do genuinely go out to you. my sole point is that if we are to pay for any service, my priority would be the fire service, no money can compensate for the sh1te they see in our name.

In any event, we pay for every service regardless, the better use of scarce resources is the ultimate goal.

angelfire9

wexfjord wrote: »

Why mention it then?

Because I sat in my car between 2am and 3am watching the flames get more and more agressive and waited vainly for 30 minutes for a fire service who billed me almost 2k for the privilege of putting out a fire that was virtually out of control by the time they got there but would have been far more manageable had they gotten there within the timeframe recommended by the Clare Co. Co. customer's charter which states a domestic fire within the ennis town limits is supposed to have a fire tender in attendance within 15 minutes of the call out

i rang 999 at 2.23am
the fire service arrived at 3am

I live in Clare's county town, Ennis approximately a 5 minute drive from the fire station
The 2006 census indicates that Ennis had a population of 24,253 making it the largest town in Munster and the sixth largest town in Ireland.
I think its fair to say I don't live in a rural backwater & therefore should be entitled to a decent fire service

How come Dublin Fire Brigade charge NOTHING for these services by the way??

Leo Demidov

angelfire9 wrote: »

My entire estate is timber framed, the lads in ennis know this... didn't make a difference to my 30 minute waiting time though.... but that's another issue...

They were obviously hiding on that eleusive €40

angelfire9

wexfjord wrote: »

If they went over the half hour, your personal catastrophe is free!

LOL

TylerIE

angelfire9 wrote: »

Nope.... 1 appliance as that was all that was available
Scene safety vehicles... in the back ass of nowhere I think not :rolleyes:
3 fire fighters (retained)
midweek 8pm so night time charge applies

€2500... = Clare County council acting the maggot

I live in Clare's county town, Ennis approximately a 5 minute drive from the fire station
The 2006 census indicates that Ennis had a population of 24,253 making it the largest town in Munster and the sixth largest town in Ireland.
I think its fair to say I don't live in a rural backwater

Back ass of nowhere or sixth largest town in Ireland? Or was the accident miles from home...

Either way a scene safety vehicle (jeep or second appliance) would normally be dispatched to all road traffic incidents - even in Dublin, (except there its normally a second appliance, and often a rescue appliance and officer). You may be aware that in the past ES personnell have died attending Road Accidents. Even more common is for bystanders to be hit at RTAs. Only last week there was the conclusion to a court case where a lady died directing traffic at a fatal RTA. A Police Officer died in the States near where I worked 3 weeks ago... These are the risks the Fire Fighters face, and once dispatched (Even if cancelled) they have to mentally prepare.

The bystanders may not have seen it or the second appliance or the other firefighters who were on route, as they would have been cancelled by . You said they ones who came were only there five minutes, therefore others could have been coming from further afield but cancelled. However they would have had to leave their partner/children / football match to dash off so once called they are (rightfully) paid.


I see Clare has compassion in no fees for Fatalities or Serious injuries, and waivers and reductions to Social Welfare recipients for Chimney fires plus individual waivers can be applied for.

angelfire9

lst wrote: »

Back ass of nowhere or sixth largest town in Ireland? Or was the accident miles from home...

Either way a scene safety vehicle (jeep or second appliance) would normally be dispatched to all road traffic incidents - even in Dublin, (except there its normally a second appliance, and often a rescue appliance and officer). You may be aware that in the past ES personnell have died attending Road Accidents. Even more common is for bystanders to be hit at RTAs. Only last week there was the conclusion to a court case where a lady died directing traffic at a fatal RTA. A Police Officer died in the States near where I worked 3 weeks ago... These are the risks the Fire Fighters face, and once dispatched (Even if cancelled) they have to mentally prepare.

The bystanders may not have seen it or the second appliance or the other firefighters who were on route, as they would have been cancelled by . You said they ones who came were only there five minutes, therefore others could have been coming from further afield but cancelled. However they would have had to leave their partner/children / football match to dash off so once called they are (rightfully) paid.


I see Clare has compassion in no fees for Fatalities or Serious injuries, and waivers and reductions to Social Welfare recipients for Chimney fires plus individual waivers can be applied for.

The RTA was in the back ass of nowhere
The house fire was in ennis
There was only 1 appliance AVAILABLE for the RTA due to a fire about 40 miles north of RTA scene

civdef

Fire charges are all down to how county councillors have voted to fund the fire service in their counties.
Most fire service personnel aren't happy with charging, but in the current funding structure, it's a financial necessity.

It'd be great if people could make an election issue out of it come the next local elections.

Goonerdee

It should be a Nationwide free service.

civdef

I agree (with some exceptions*), but until a funding model is sorted out, that's not going to happen.

* Following definitely shouldn't be free in my opinion:

Commercial automatic false alarms. (Major incentive to have a properly functioning alarm system).
Frivolous calls - like where you see 3 crews tied up in the UK "rescuing" a swan.
Chimney fires - just clean the damned thing twice a year.

Goonerdee

civdef wrote: »

I agree (with some exceptions*), but until a funding model is sorted out, that's not going to happen.

* Following definitely shouldn't be free in my opinion:

Commercial automatic false alarms. (Major incentive to have a properly functioning alarm system).
Frivolous calls - like where you see 3 crews tied up in the UK "rescuing" a swan.
Chimney fires - just clean the damned thing twice a year.

Commercial false alarms aren't free in the UK, my brother's company was fined several times for staff accidently activating the fire alarm.

I don't know about Chimney fires but it is rare now to find properties without OFCH.

As for animal rescues, the fire brigade will only respond when they are available and in the area or where the police feel the animals situation may result in injuries to members of the public. I believe it is free, unless it is always the same individual and becomes a nuisance.