FIRE BRIGADE CHARGE KERRY.

AlexBarrett

Hey guys looking for yer advice in relation to a fire brigade charge I am going to receive.

I recently wrote off my car in an area of Kerry out near my house. I hit a ditch and the car went up onto the ditch and flipped in over it.

I got out of the car myself and a passer by rang the ambulance. I was in my mothers car by the time the ambulance arrived and they informed me that a fire brigade wasn't needed and rang ahead to make sure it didn't arrive.

About 5 mins later the fire brigade arrived along with the guards. I had been checked over at this stage, recovery vehilcle was already on the way and there was no debris to be cleared on the road. The only obstruction was the ambulance on the road and now the fore brigade that had arrived.

I left before the fire brigade but I was told that they left within a matter of minutes after me so they were there no more than 10 mins.

Anyways now I've been told that im gonna be getting a €1200 bill in the post for the fire brigade (charge extras at weekends)

I'd have no complaint paying this fee if the actually did something to help me but the fact they were told not to come out is whats making me mad.

I'm only a 23years old and fair enough I have a job but thats more than a months wages for me. And I'm literally giving the council money for doing nothing. No one benefited from there arrival at the scene.

No idea if theres anyway I can get out of this or even just a smaller bill.

OU812

look at it from the point of view if they did have to cut you out. You'd have paid any amount of money then.

They showed up ready to do their job, just because you didn't need them, doesn't make the effort they went to any less valuable. In fact, them turning out to you, probably meant they weren't available anywhere else.

Try and negotiate a lower rate, but pay with good grace. They may have saved your life & may do so again in the future. Might even be a nice gesture to turn up at the station with a box of roses or something for them.

Try not to roll any more cars in ditches in the future too.

AlexBarrett

I understand the were doing there job and all that and I know its not the fire brigade that make these charges but does the fact that they were told not to come out that they weren't needed matter? And where the accident happened is about 2mins from the station so they would have been at the station when they were told not to come out.

OU812

I don't think it does matter if they were told they weren't wanted as they'd still turn up to isolate the battery in case of electrical fire.

Please say you were insured. If you were your policy should cover the charge although you'll pay heavily for it in the future.

The charge is place by the council as far as I know & not the brigade itself so there's very little you could do to reduce it unless the C.O. Tells them they didn't attend. You could visit the station and ask could be do this.

If he can (& does), make sure you make it known how grateful you are by a decent donation to the firefighters family's fund or some such. (Goes to the family's of firefighters killed in service).

By the way, I'm not in the service, I just recognise the bravery of these men and women.

Rachiee

Id get in touch with dispatch and take it up with them if you can prove you requested to cancel I dont think you should have to pay. Unless its policy for the fire brigade to attend all them types of crashes, in which case it should be covered by your insurance.

RiderOnTheStorm

does your car insurance cover the cost of a fire-brigade call out?

amdaley28

I presume your car is wrecked so your insurance will probably pay if you make a claim for a new car.
Check your policy to see if emergency service charges are covered.

AlexBarrett

I only had third party fire and theft not fully comp so I'm not covered under my insurance.

theUbiq

OU812 wrote: »

look at it from the point of view if they did have to cut you out. You'd have paid any amount of money then.

They showed up ready to do their job, just because you didn't need them, doesn't make the effort they went to any less valuable. In fact, them turning out to you, probably meant they weren't available anywhere else.

Try and negotiate a lower rate, but pay with good grace. They may have saved your life & may do so again in the future. Might even be a nice gesture to turn up at the station with a box of roses or something for them.

Try not to roll any more cars in ditches in the future too.

Hold on... Didn't the OP tell them not to come out?? Why did the come out then?

AlexBarrett

I don't know....!

OU812

Because in any crash, there's a risk of fire. Not just petrol, which almost never goes up, but electrical from the battery.

When a battery melts in a fire, the acid keeps on eating. You don't want that stuff getting anywhere near skin. They isolate the battery eliminating the risk of fire.

You don't want them coming out, don't crash your car.

If you go inspect the wreck, you'll most probably find its missing the battery or at least has the cables cut.

Just out of interest op, if the crash was more serious & your legs were crushed under the dash, or your chest was impaled on the steering column, or you were just plain trapped upside down by the seatbelt, wouldn't you be glad they came out even if they were told not to?

Carazy

OU812 wrote: »

Because in any crash, there's a risk of fire. Not just petrol, which almost never goes up, but electrical from the battery.

When a battery melts in a fire, the acid keeps on eating. You don't want that stuff getting anywhere near skin. They isolate the battery eliminating the risk of fire.

You don't want them coming out, don't crash your car.

If you go inspect the wreck, you'll most probably find its missing the battery or at least has the cables cut.

Just out of interest op, if the crash was more serious & your legs were crushed under the dash, or your chest was impaled on the steering column, or you were just plain trapped upside down by the seatbelt, wouldn't you be glad they came out even if they were told not to?

Come on OU that's a bit ridiculous, Who the hell would tell the fire brigade not to come out in such a situation!!

OU812

Doesn't make any difference. He could have been in that situation & they would have turned out & done the job. They have to attend for isolation anyway, so he needs to see if he can get it reduced, and then pay what's owed. Just because they thankfully weren't needed doesn't mean the charge magically disappears.

Anyway, I get the feeling we're not getting the whole story, so this should be a wakeup call not to do whatever caused the crash in the first place again & get on & enjoy what is the thankfully rest of his life.

sheesh

Could you refuse to pay on the basis that you did not call them out?

Here are the rules set out in Limerick Co Co site -they say it is not dependent on who calls out the Fire Brigade, but on who is liable for any accident...

http://www.lcc.ie/Emergency_Services/Fire_Rescue/Fire_Prevention/Fees_and_Charges

Presume one coud go to Court and argue it, but would expect a lot of hard questions as to how you managed to drive a car into a ditch and why the State should carry the cost of reacting (possibly overreacting, granted) to your inability to keep a car on the road. I wouldn't go in expecting sympathy.

amdaley28

AlexBarrett wrote: »

I only had third party fire and theft not fully comp so I'm not covered under my insurance.

Sorry to hear you're not covered.
The best you an do is to contact them & try to have the amount reduced.

amdaley28

amdaley28 wrote: »

Sorry to hear you're not covered.
The best you an do is to contact them & try to have the amount reduced.

Yeah, think this would be far better than the "nothing to do with me now cos I called them" approach.

Boom__Boom

€1200 seems very high just for a simple call-out charge where they have literally nothing to do.

Surely it would make sense/be fairer to have a lower standard call-out charge for calls like this where they literally have nothing to do and a higher one for situations where they have to deal with stuff like described below.

OU812 wrote: »

If the crash was more serious & your legs were crushed under the dash, or your chest was impaled on the steering column, or you were just plain trapped upside down by the seatbelt

If they upped the cost for situations like the second to something like €2000
and dropped the cost of the first to something like €400 it would seem far fairer to me.

Legally it would be interesting to see what would happen if someone said they werent paying the bill.

Boom__Boom

Boom__Boom wrote: »

€1200 seems very high just for a simple call-out charge where they have literally nothing to do.

Surely it would make sense/be fairer to have a lower standard call-out charge for calls like this where they literally have nothing to do and a higher one for situations where they have to deal with stuff like described below.



If they upped the cost for situations like the second to something like €2000
and dropped the cost of the first to something like €400 it would seem far fairer to me.

Legally it would be interesting to see what would happen if someone said they werent paying the bill.

Its a good point but presume it would mean everyone saying their crash was minor to avail of the lower charge.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

kfk

AlexBarrett wrote: »

I understand the were doing there job and all that and I know its not the fire brigade that make these charges but does the fact that they were told not to come out that they weren't needed matter? And where the accident happened is about 2mins from the station so they would have been at the station when they were told not to come out.

AFAIK most of the firemen dont work full time and have to be called into the station from their other work. They were probably on route before the call was made to cancel it.