# Liability for a fire brigade charge



## bond-007

Just wondering, who is liable to pay a fire brigade charge? Is it the owner of a house or the person who called them out to a fire, eg a passerby? 

Reason I ask is that the local council are chasing a person who does not own the house that the fire was in, he just happened to be passing and noticed flames and like a good citizen he called the fire brigade. 

Now the council are chasing him for the money as he was the one that called them out. Surely this is wrong?


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## ClubMan

[broken link removed]?


> *Incident-related charges
> 
> * Most local Fire Services in Ireland will charge a flat rate of between 90 euro and 130 euro for attending a chimney fire or other domestic fire or emergency. If the Fire Services have to attend a fire or other emergency larger in scale than a domestic fire, such as a forestry fire or a fire at commercial premises, they will seek to recoup the entire cost of this service from the company or landowner. Generally, this cost would then be recovered by the landowner or company from their insurers.


Sounds like the property owner is liable?


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## efm

Well, if the fire happened in Cavan then there is no charge if someone dies - I still haven't decided if this is a good thing or not!


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## Complainer

Seems non-sensical. Can you get hold of someone at senior level (SEO or Director of Services) and appeal to their common sense?


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## z103

> Most local Fire Services in Ireland will charge a flat rate of between 90 euro and 130 euro for attending a chimney fire or other domestic fire or emergency.


Wow. For some reason I just assumed that our taxes paid for this in full.


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## Jack The Lad

efm said:


> Well, if the fire happened in Cavan then there is no charge if someone dies - I still haven't decided if this is a good thing or not!


 
That's an interesting one alright... hopefully it isn't for motivational purposes!

But in fairness it would save a lot of hurt and outrage if someone lost a loved one in a house-fire, and then got a bill from the Fire Brigade! So at least fair play to them for not being heartless bureaucrats.



> ...the local council are chasing a person who does not own the house that the fire was in, he just happened to be passing and noticed flames and like a good citizen he called the fire brigade.
> 
> Now the council are chasing him for the money as he was the one that called them out. Surely this is wrong?


 
Actually, just had another thought on this. If people start to get the impression that calling a fire brigade to help others out could leave you with a bill, that can only result in someone, somewhere deciding not to bother, and a possible tragedy as a result. Those in charge should issue a press statement or something to clarify.


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## DavyJones

I was in a minor road accident last year caused by an old lady, she got quite a shock so I called an ambulance for her and the Gardai. seven minutes after the call the fire service appeared (the only serive I hadn't asked for!). About six weeks later I got a bill for €600 from fire service. Although they did a fine job on site, I didn't call them, didn't need them but since I made the call I was responible to pay.


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## Jack The Lad

DavyJones said:


> I didn't call them, didn't need them but since I made the call I was responsible to pay.


 
Did you contest the legitimacy of the bill? 

I presume your insurance covered it?


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## DavyJones

Jack The Lad said:


> Did you contest the legitimacy of the bill?
> 
> I presume your insurance covered it?


 

The old lady admitted liability from the off. Thankfully nobody was hurt although I think her car was written off, So when I got the first bill I ignored it, the second one I give to my solicitor he passed it on to the ladies insurance company. I haven't heard anything since. If I ever witness an accident I 'll use a public phone or somebody else's phone to report it. 
That day when I called I didn't give my name and when they asked me for my number, in the confusion I give them half of my current number and the second half of an old number, and they still found me. there's a lesson in there somewhere!


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## TreeTiger

bond-007 said:


> ... the local council are chasing a person who does not own the house that the fire was in, he just happened to be passing and noticed flames and like a good citizen he called the fire brigade.
> 
> Now the council are chasing him for the money as he was the one that called them out. Surely this is wrong?


I'm sure a newspaper somewhere would be interested in this, Good Samaritan left with huge bill etc.  Reading this post, if I were to see a fire in the next while, I think I would ask first am I going to be charged and if they said yes, I would have to seriously consider what to do next.


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## Jack The Lad

DavyJones said:


> The old lady admitted liability from the off. Thankfully nobody was hurt although I think her car was written off, So when I got the first bill I ignored it, the second one I give to my solicitor he passed it on to the ladies insurance company. I haven't heard anything since. If I ever witness an accident I 'll use a public phone or somebody else's phone to report it.
> That day when I called I didn't give my name and when they asked me for my number, in the confusion I give them half of my current number and the second half of an old number, and they still found me. there's a lesson in there somewhere!


 
Amazing.

Thanks for getting back with that info DJ, a real eye opener!


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## z103

> Reading this post, if I were to see a fire in the next while, I think I would ask first am I going to be charged and if they said yes, I would have to seriously consider what to do next.


Weighing things up, this kind of crap wouldn't stop me calling the fire brigade if I saw a house on fire.
I can argue the bill later.


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## bond-007

The fire brigade are looking for €600 for the call out which was to a private house. Seems way over the odds based on the figures quoted above. 

I have told this person to write back to the council denying liability and asking them on what legal basis are they chasing him. We shall wait and see what response he gets.


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## sandrat

some councils have a policy of sending fire brigade to every car accident - no need for them to be requested. Once 999 call is placed then fire brigade sent out.


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## Jack The Lad

sandrat said:


> some councils have a policy of sending fire brigade to every car accident - no need for them to be requested. Once 999 call is placed then fire brigade sent out.



I'm guessing that's partially to deal with oil-spillage, with a view to preventing another accident later on.


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## eileen alana

leghorn said:


> Weighing things up, this kind of crap wouldn't stop me calling the fire brigade if I saw a house on fire.
> I can argue the bill later.


 

I agree with you, honestly, surely no one in their right minds wouldn't hesiitate to call the emergency services if they thought a life was at risk?


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## rmelly

eileen alana said:


> I agree with you, honestly, surely no one in their right minds wouldn't hesiitate to call the emergency services if they thought a life was at risk?


 
presumably you mean 



> I agree with you, honestly, surely no one in their right minds *would* hesiitate to call the emergency services if they thought a life was at risk?


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## eileen alana

Rmelly - Thank you for highlighting my error, very sweet of you, I did spot it after I posted and before I coud edit I had to go and see to a more pressing emergency


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## rmelly

eileen alana said:


> Rmelly - Thank you for highlighting my error, very sweet of you, I did spot it after I posted and before I coud edit I had to go and see to a more pressing emergency


 
hope that emergency isn't going to cost you €600


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## LouthLass

Apologies for dragging this forum back into play here but the reason I have is because I was talking to a friend of mine today who told me that the fire brigade will charge the caller of a 999 call about €500 for the attendance regardless of whether it is a house fire (even if not own home!!) or a wheelie bin fire!! I would not believe her until I read the threads on this - surely this cannot be true? I thought this was a urban myth until now! I have just moved back from the UK where I lived a number of years and over there it is not an issue, you call the fire brigade to a situation you believe needs resolving without fear of getting an invoice - thats what Council Tax contributes to!) I appreciate that anyone with a conscience would not hesitate in calling the emergency services if it was warranted but unfortunately not everybody appears to have a conscience! Would the fear of getting a bill for several hundred euros actually put someone off from calling even for an apparently 'minor' incident such as an out of control bonfire near residential buildings, a potential forest fire or even the old chestnut of a cat stuck up a tree?? Please can anyone clarify this for me as I still refuse to believe that someone who is only trying to help their community can be financially punished for this?? Many thanks


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## ClubMan

LouthLass said:


> the fire brigade will charge the caller of a 999 call about €500 for the attendance regardless of whether it is a house fire (even if not own home!!) or a wheelie bin fire!!


How do they know who it is? I have made 999 calls in the past from both landlines and payphones and they never asked for personal details.


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## LouthLass

That's exactly my point!!  If indeed this is just a horrible urban rumour then surely the powers that be should be taking steps to quash it!  Potentially peoples' lives are in danger here because, as evidenced today, people believe they will be charged for making the call whether it true or not!


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## ClubMan

LouthLass said:


> That's exactly my point!!  If indeed this is just a horrible urban rumour then surely the powers that be should be taking steps to quash it


Eh? What_ "powers that be"_? 

The details of when and how service charges apply in this situation are either set out or linked to earlier in this thread.


> Potentially peoples' lives are in danger here because, as evidenced today, people believe they will be charged for making the call whether it true or not!


Evidenced where?


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## LouthLass

Evidenced as in someone told me that they would not call out the services as they believed that they would be personally accountable for the charge incurred - even if it was just one person, it is one person too many when potential lives are at risk.  When I said 'powers that be' I meant the bosses of the emergency services, if they are made aware that some people believe they will be charged for calling 999 then surely they should put in place some kind of advertising campaign that puts people straight about the procedure.  I take on board what you say about costings etc being available via links in this site but unfortunately not everybody has access to the wealth of information this site provides and indeed the internet as a whole. My inital query still stands and that is if I or anyone else calls the fire brigade to a potential situation, can a charge be levied against the caller?


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## Complainer

LouthLass said:


> My inital query still stands and that is if I or anyone else calls the fire brigade to a potential situation, can a charge be levied against the caller?


Each local authority has different policies on charging. Give your LA a call on Tuesday morning and they will clarify the situation for you.


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## miselemeas

1 November 2007 - RTE NEWS - http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/1101/halloween.html

 'Dublin Fire Brigade said its services were stretched to breaking point after it received around 1,300 calls in the 12-hour period since 6pm yesterday evening.'​ 
I wouldn't imagine they recouped the costs from all those callers so it seems very unfair that a genuine caller or 'good samaritan' would be charged for making an emergency call.


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## WaterSprite

LouthLass said:


> My inital query still stands and that is if I or anyone else calls the fire brigade to a potential situation, can a charge be levied against the caller?



I called the fire brigade for a skip fire on my road about a year ago.  From recollection, I think they took my number (they would have had it anyway from the call) and I didn't get charged or have any further correspondence.  Croke Park area.

Sprite


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## bond-007

It seems to depend on which LA area is involved.


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## ClubMan

miselemeas said:


> 1 November 2007 - RTE NEWS - http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/1101/halloween.html
> 
> 'Dublin Fire Brigade said its services were stretched to breaking point after it received around 1,300 calls in the 12-hour period since 6pm yesterday evening.'​
> I wouldn't imagine they recouped the costs from all those callers so it seems very unfair that a genuine caller or 'good samaritan' would be charged for making an emergency call.


Are you implying that some or all of those 1,300 calls were not "genuine"?


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