NEW CASTLE, Ind. --
A New Castle family that lost their home in a fire last year said they were shocked to receive a bill for nearly $28,000.
Emergency Services Billing Corporation, based in Brownsburg, sent Brian and Darline Fairchild an itemized bill including charges for water and refilling firefighters' oxygen (sic) tanks,
reported.
"I said 'Oh my God, they've got to be kidding," Darline Fairchild said.
"I always thought that a volunteer fire department was just that, volunteer, and taxes helped pay for that," said Brian Fairchild.
Company owner Robert Blackford said usually insurance companies foot the bill if a department chooses to charge for its services, with rare exceptions.
He said federal environmental law allows him to bill unlimited fees for the departments' services, and that Indiana law permits departments to set fees themselves.
"Ultimately, I think pretty much every fire department in America should charge for their services," Blackford said.
State Fire Marshal James Greeson said his office recommends limited charges, but said there are no consequences if departments choose to charge more.
"In our case, the state law tries to establish continuity across the state," he said.
State Sen. Allen Paul proposed legislation related to fire fees this session, but withdrew the bill citing the need for more study.
"There's a lot of research that has to be done on a bill like this and I just don’t feel like we have time to do that," Paul said.
He said he hopes to revisit the issue more next session.
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