S.C. Departments Seek Reimbursement for Big Fires

An Orangeburg County fire official says a March fire in Vance underscored the need for county council to pass a cost recovery ordinance -- and soon.

"Another big event is going to happen. If we don't get this cost recovery pushed through County Council and if they don't get moving on it, it is not a matter of if it is going to happen, it is a matter of when it is going to happen. It is going to cost the county big bucks again," Fire Advisory Board Vice Chairman Carl Thompson told the County Fire Commission last week.

The cost recovery ordinance has been a concern for fire officials ever since the September 2011 fire at Don's Car Crushing in Holly Hill. The fire district spent about $35,000 for foam alone in fighting the blaze.

Thompson said firefighters were concerned they would face large blaze last month, when a fire started near a railcar and building that could have contained fertilizer. Fortunately, they did not.

"If it had been fertilizer, it would have been a major event. It would have cost us more foam and more supplies," he said.

County fire officials say the district was reimbursed for such incidents prior to two years ago. Now insurance companies say they're not paying for emergency response unless agencies have the authority to make a claim. An ordinance would give agencies the authority.

Orangeburg County Administrator Bill Clark said the ordinance is being drafted and will come back to council before the end of the fiscal year on June 30.

Copyright 2012 - The Times and Democrat, Orangeburg, S.C.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service