Errr, do you take credit cards?
Tighter budgets. Higher call volumes. Higher fuel costs. Lower tax bases. Talk about being between a rock and a hard place! Fire departments across the country - volunteer, combination and career - are all experiencing these challenges to one degree or another. As FireRescue1.com and the Chico Enterprise-Record report, the town of Paradise, CA is looking at billing its residents for non-fire calls as a way to generate the revenue needed to cover their costs.
On the plus side, it would certainly generate revenue. It would probably also narrow emergency responses to those events that really require it. On the minus side, it might cause some people to not call when they should. And talk about a PR downer! Doesn't it kind of fly in the face of what firefighters are all about?
What do you think? Navigate over to our poll ("Should fire departments bill for non-fire calls") on the right and vote!
1 comments:
Yes I completely agree Fire Departments should charge a fee for non-emergency calls. These fees help the district with fundraising for much needed equipment, keeps the district's resources free for emergency calls and lessens burnout among the responders so that they are fresh for emergencies.
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