[rdmills]

I was not aware until our neighbor had a fire, that our insurance company (we) are charged for fire service in Sumter County. It was discovered that the County Commissioners passed an ordinance (2008-05) which allows for the billing for fire services. The neighbors insurance company will be receiving a bill for between eight and nine thousand dollars for the Villages Public Safety Department services. One example is $500.00 per hour per class A fire truck. This all seems unfair since we pay a yearly fee for fire protection within Sumter County section of The Villages. A number of residents are going to the Commissioners meeting on July 22, 2008 @ 5 P.M. which will be held at the Colony Rec Center to question them about this issue.

[samhass]

This is the first I've heard of these charges. Interesting..if true.

[carolynpage]

I agree, this is outrageous

[GatorFan]

Eveyone needs to get involved and pass the word to be at this meeting. If we think insurance premiums for our homes are high now, I hate to think what will happen when they start getting billed for thousands of dollars from the fire department.

[English Ivy]

I did a google search for "sumter county fl fire dept charges" and came up with this article from the Daily Sun this past January. The article makes it sound like this is becoming normal practice all across the country. Here's the link for the article:

http://www.thevillagesdailysun.com/a...ews/news02.txt

[Best Mom]

I hope everyone sees this post. Also, I hope someone can explain it more than the Sun article. It is not happening in our little town up in NY.

[villages07]

Very interesting.... a couple of "what-if" scenarios....

What if your neighbor sees smoke and calls 911, but, it was a small kitchen fire and you extinguish it yourself. They dispatch a fire truck. Any charges to ensue? They always send 2 vehicles...will you get charged for both?

It's a bit of a fallacy to say the homeowner/resident will not pay...most policies carry a 500-1,000 deductible. So, they show up, no real damage was done to your property yet you would still have to pay the dispatch call because of your deductible?

The tone of the article is a little "so what"....let the big insurance company pay, it won't cost you. In the end, we pay, one way or another.

These charges seem grossly out of line with the cost of doing business. The county, through our taxes, is paying for the equipment and personnel whether they are in the firehouse waiting for a call or out on the street. These user fee surcharges seem awfully expensive for the time and service rendered.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by villages07

Very interesting.... a couple of "what-if" scenarios....

What if your neighbor sees smoke and calls 911, but, it was a small kitchen fire and you extinguish it yourself. They dispatch a fire truck. Any charges to ensue? They always send 2 vehicles...will you get charged for both?

It's a bit of a fallacy to say the homeowner/resident will not pay...most policies carry a 500-1,000 deductible. So, they show up, no real damage was done to your property yet you would still have to pay the dispatch call because of your deductible?

The tone of the article is a little "so what"....let the big insurance company pay, it won't cost you. In the end, we pay, one way or another.

These charges seem grossly out of line with the cost of doing business. The county, through our taxes, is paying for the equipment and personnel whether they are in the firehouse waiting for a call or out on the street. These user fee surcharges seem awfully expensive for the time and service rendered.

As usual I agree with everything Village 07 says. I just wish I could say it like she does.
This is very troubling!

[samhass]

I question why a fire truck has to come out on every 911 call for medical help. If you are having a heart attack will it make you feel better to think your house might be burning down, too? You have paramedics on the ambulance. How will a fireman help?

[KCinBAMA]

Originally Posted by samhass

I question why a fire truck has to come out on every 911 call for medical help. If you are having a heart attack will it make you feel better to think your house might be burning down, too? You have paramedics on the ambulance. How will a fireman help?

I know that where I live in Alabama, 911 dispatches fire trucks and ambulances. I've had to call them twice and both times, the firefighters arrived within 5 minutes and perform first aid/stabilization procedures - usually, a good 10 minutes before the ambulance arrives. Maybe its simply that they are quicker to respond?

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by samhass

I question why a fire truck has to come out on every 911 call for medical help. If you are having a heart attack will it make you feel better to think your house might be burning down, too? You have paramedics on the ambulance. How will a fireman help?

Sammy, In some areas there are more fire stations nearby than ambulances, so help is available sooner. Also most (if not all) firefighters are trained in basic medical procedures and many trucks have defibrillators.

[Casino]

Originally Posted by samhass

I question why a fire truck has to come out on every 911 call for medical help. If you are having a heart attack will it make you feel better to think your house might be burning down, too? You have paramedics on the ambulance. How will a fireman help?

The reason why a fire truck comes out to every 911 call for medical help is that sometimes more help is needed on scene . This is also part of the accredition plan that each department has. You can never forsee what is going to happen on a scene...you might need more personnel to help carrry the patient to the truck, need more help on scene as the paramedics are tending to the patient(s).....just use your imagination and there are a lot of scenarios. Hope this helps answer your question.

[bestmickey]

I don't know about your neck of the woods, but besides getting on-site faster, our first responders in the fire trucks are paramedics. From the calls I've made for sick friends/family, with what I observed, I have a lot more trust in the paramedics than I do in the ambulance crews I've encountered.

[Talk Host]

If there is a ton of money sitting at insurance companies waiting to pay for fire department services and the fire departments actually start charging for those services, and the insurance companies have to suddenly begin paying those charges......does anybody think for a minute that the insurance companies are just going to happily pay from that fund and say goodbye to that money.....and not come back to the customer and recover it somehow?

It is my opinion that we pay taxes for fire services. If we pay once and the insurance company pays once....that's twice.....for the same service. Kinda like doctors ordering tests just because they will get paid by the insurance company. If the fire department gets paid by the number of trucks they send.....what's to stop them from sending 50 trucks? Is there also a charge for the chiefs car?

[Best Mom]

bump