Fire Brigade charges for Galway (city & co)

buzz11

Ad below appeared in last weeks Galway Advertiser.

Seriously expensive charges...but what about the cost for a report €87!!

foxy_19-89

I might sound stupid here but who exactly gets the bill?

If I spot a fire, I call the fire brigade and the house, lets say, is unoccupied and abandoned........do I get the bill?.....

BhoscaCapall

If you're driving a banger of a car and she goes up in smoke, can you just leave it to burn out instead of paying these ridiculous charges?

Mrs OBumble

foxy_19-89 wrote: »

I might sound stupid here but who exactly gets the bill?

If I spot a fire, I call the fire brigade and the house, lets say, is unoccupied and abandoned........do I get the bill?.....

I believe it's the property owner who gets the bill. At least that was the story from Co Mayo, when I had to call them about an issue for a company I was working for last year.

Or if you're in Dublin, it's free.

Or if the property-owner meets one of the criteria set out by the county you're in at the time (eg being 65+ does it in Donegal), it's free.

Oh the madness ....

coleria

I read in a thread awhile ago that if you come across a car crash and you call the fire brigade, you are liable for the call out, which was over €500,
and I've heard of people afraid to call the fire brigade, my brother being one, for a chimney fire as its bang, 500 bucks. (dont quoate me)
I understand the costs but it should never get to a stage when costs come into consiration when an emergency happens.

bonzodog2

Wow! I wonder what the rate is for getting a cat out of a tree ?
Anybody remember the 80s TV show Sledgehammer ?

Cookies.

Rescue of persons 575? I'd have to let myself burn away :-(

Fey!

With the exception of a false alarm, I'd assume that building and vehicle fires would be covered by house/premises/vehicle insurance. Better check the policy fine print.

For rescue they only say what each fire brigade costs. How much will the helicoptor cost you?

mikom

Don't forget to pay your household charges folks...........

Next up a Garda call out charge.

Burglary: 100 Euro

Rape: 300 Euro

Doc Ruby

mikom wrote: »

Don't forget to pay your household charges folks...........

Next up a Garda call out charge.

Burglary: 100 Euro

Rape: 300 Euro

And they'll put the hat on it with a "paying your taxes" levy.

factual lies

I had to call the fire brigade last year when an abandoned house on my street was set on fire. The landowners were footed with the bill.

I have also called them for car crashes where people have died but don't know who got the bill for them? Would even hate to know.

wreckless

NO TO FIRE CHARGES!!!! :mad:

on the RTC with fatalities, afaik, there is no call charge if there is a death.

If you report a fire, you will not be charged. how stupid would that be? Don't always assume some one else has rang it in either, call 999 and report it too, worst is, the ES caller will thank you for your assertiveness. better be safe than sorry!

rallye150flyer

JustMary wrote: »

I believe it's the property owner who gets the bill. At least that was the story from Co Mayo, when I had to call them about an issue for a company I was working for last year.

Or if you're in Dublin, it's free.

Or if the property-owner meets one of the criteria set out by the county you're in at the time (eg being 65+ does it in Donegal), it's free.

Oh the madness ....

its no longer free in Dublin charges introduced in January

rallye150flyer

Fey! wrote: »

For rescue they only say what each fire brigade costs. How much will the helicoptor cost you?

No fire service in Ireland has a helicopter, the only helicopter rescues are done by the Irish Coast Guard, or in rare occasions the Air Corps

Torpedo

No charge for Coast Guard Helicopter Service.

Bang Bang

The wording in the advertisement is misleading. It states each fire 'brigade', the 'Fire brigade' would be Galway City & County Fire Service/Brigade or Galway County Council.
Do they mean each tender or unit perhaps?? Or do they literally mean that each 'Brigade' that attends, i.e. Clare, West Meath etc?! Which would mean Galway City/County Fire Brigade could send five, six or more tenders, it's still only one 'Brigade'!!
I'm not being pedantic but the advert is misleading...

kub

Bang Bang wrote: »

The wording in the advertisement is misleading. It states each fire 'brigade', the 'Fire brigade' would be Galway City & County Fire Service/Brigade or Galway County Council.
Do they mean each tender or unit perhaps?? Or do they literally mean that each 'Brigade' that attends, i.e. Clare, West Meath etc?! Which would mean Galway City/County Fire Brigade could send five, six or more tenders, it's still only one 'Brigade'!!
I'm not being pedantic but the advert is misleading...

Just my thoughts, obviously the good folks in the administration section may be unaware of the correct terminology.

CB19Kevo

This just shows how bad things have got in this country.
Charging for emergency services :mad:
It will stop some people from ringing and will put lives at risk.. We all are aware that small fires can rapidly spread and if people are not willing to call as soon as a fire starts it could lead to increased damage.
OH EVERYTHING HAS A F**KI*G PRICE THESE DAYS, it would make you sick...:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

Owen_S

The last thing you want in an emergency is a person hesitating to call the emergency services out of fear of being charged, especially in situations such as the one 'coleria' mentioned on the first page.

BrianD

CB19Kevo wrote: »

This just shows how bad things have got in this country.
Charging for emergency services :mad:
It will stop some people from ringing and will put lives at risk.. We all are aware that small fires can rapidly spread and if people are not willing to call as soon as a fire starts it could lead to increased damage.
OH EVERYTHING HAS A F**KI*G PRICE THESE DAYS, it would make you sick...:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

Your house insurance covers these charges. I just took out contents only insurance and I have fire brigade call out cover up to €2k (I think -haven't got the small print).

You only pay for this service if you actually use it and after you use it. In the meantime, the state pays for the equipment, the manpower, the training and for the service to be on standby in the event that you need it.

mikom

BrianD wrote: »

You only pay for this service if you actually use it and after you use it. In the meantime, the state taxpayer pays for the equipment, the manpower, the training and for the service to be on standby in the event that you the taxpayer needs it.

FYP.

CB19Kevo

BrianD wrote: »

Your house insurance covers these charges. I just took out contents only insurance and I have fire brigade call out cover up to €2k (I think -haven't got the small print).

You only pay for this service if you actually use it and after you use it. In the meantime, the state pays for the equipment, the manpower, the training and for the service to be on standby in the event that you need it.

Its the issue that people will be slow in calling out FRS if they believe they might be charged... People are often slow enough to call as it is...
As for the insurance cover i think there should be a direct charge to insurance companys and no bill should be sent to individuals.
The only incidents that should be charged for is low priority assistance to commercial or other incidents classed as not 999.
If people are caught for arson than clearly they should pay the cost but i dont believe direct billing for incidents is the right way to go about it.
A national fire service would also help...........

BrianD

CB19Kevo wrote: »

Its the issue that people will be slow in calling out FRS if they believe they might be charged... People are often slow enough to call as it is...
As for the insurance cover i think there should be a direct charge to insurance companys and no bill should be sent to individuals.
The only incidents that should be charged for is low priority assistance to commercial or other incidents classed as not 999.
If people are caught for arson than clearly they should pay the cost but i dont believe direct billing for incidents is the right way to go about it.
A national fire service would also help...........

I don't believe that for one second. Not one second. Sure there will always be one as there would be if the service was completely free,

In any case, many 999 calls are made by others who have no direct personal or financial interest in the incident. Passers by etc.

Generally, if you have to call for a fire brigade you are more than likely in a situation of major financial loss. The fire brigade bill will be a minor expense.

If the person receives a bill they just send it onto their insurer.

dfbemt

BrianD wrote: »

Your house insurance covers these charges. I just took out contents only insurance and I have fire brigade call out cover up to €2k (I think -haven't got the small print).

And therein lies the problem.

You will notice that you have an excess on your policy.

So you have a chimney fire. Bill comes in for €300. Your excess is €250. Insurance pays out €50, you still have to pay the €250.

It's all one great big rip off.

Farren

I had a fire in my house in County Galway last year. Three units attended the fire, two fire engines and one water tender (out the country so no water supplies). The charge is per unit, per hour or part there of, and the total came to €5200. Our insurance only covered €2000 of this. I rang my broker to get a letter stating this and the guy on the phone was amazed at the cost. They represented a number of insurance companies so he took a look at all of them and told me that the max brigade cover he could find was €2400. So don't think that your insurance will cover the full cost of the brigade. I had hoped that Galway brigade would accept the €2000, but they want the lot.

Paulzx

Farren wrote: »

I had a fire in my house in County Galway last year. Three units attended the fire, two fire engines and one water tender (out the country so no water supplies). The charge is per unit, per hour or part there of, and the total came to €5200. Our insurance only covered €2000 of this. I rang my broker to get a letter stating this and the guy on the phone was amazed at the cost. They represented a number of insurance companies so he took a look at all of them and told me that the max brigade cover he could find was €2400. So don't think that your insurance will cover the full cost of the brigade. I had hoped that Galway brigade would accept the €2000, but they want the lot.

Have you paid your Household Charge? If you have, send them the receipt.

Phil Hogan bleated on enough about it on radio and repeatedly said it was for local authority services such as Fire Services. He used the words Fire Services constantly.

The Minister for Environment reckons you've paid