By Tina Depko
Burlington Post
BURLINGTON, Canada — Starting this week, the Burlington Fire Department is billing residents involved in a motor vehicle accident within city limits.
The new fee system came into effect on Monday (April 12), after it was approved by city council as part of the 2010 budget.
The city and the fire department say it is being done because drivers are covered by fire department recovery costs through their insurance.
However, a local insurance company says that consumers will ultimately pay, as increased costs for insurance companies will be passed down to customers in the form of higher premiums.
Under the city’s fee structure, a $350 flat rate will be divided among the number of drivers involved in an accident, regardless of who is at fault, in which the fire department responds.
“Some people accept it as the cost of doing business, other people obviously aren’t too thrilled with it and we apologize for that, but again, it’s a matter of us trying to contain the costs and maximize our resources,” said Shayne Mintz, fire chief of the Burlington Fire Department.
“We’re doing our best to provide the best service we possibly can for the entire population of Burlington and this helps us offset our costs.”
The cost of materials used during accident response will also be divided among the drivers involved in the accident.
The most commonly used include absorbent material for containing fluid spills, at a cost of $200 per pail; foam used for smothering fuel or oil-based fires, priced at $150-$175 per pail; and containment booms that absorb oil, which cost $50-$250 per boom. The cost for a whole pail will be charged, whether or not the entire container is used.
For example, if two drivers have an accident where the fire department responds, using one pail of material used to contain a fluid spill and a pail of foam used to smother an oil/fuel fire, the bill per driver would be $362.50.
“When we get to a vehicle accident, there are any number of things we need to do, whether it is auto extrication, scene site and security, but very seldom is it fire suppression,” Mintz said.
“We’re applying things like firefighting foam to the area, we’ve got absorbents that cost us a significant amount of money and spill containment products that we use as well.”
Accident recovery fees billed by fire departments are already built into drivers’ insurance. Mayor Cam Jackson said it makes sense to take the money from the insurance companies instead of the city.
“We pay $24 million to run our fire department and what we are finding is that the insurance companies are charging Burlington residents for this service, it is included in their premiums and yet, taxpayers are subsidizing these operational costs. We shouldn’t be subsidizing the insurance companies,” Jackson said. “Most of the comparable-sized municipalities to ours have instituted this kind of a program.”
The fee was included in an appendix in this year’s budget report. Jackson said since the recovery fee is already covered by insurance, it isn’t something that needed greater public attention.
“Staff have been talking about it awhile, but it was presented to us in the budget document,” he said. “We’re saying do you want your property taxes to subsidize something you are already paying for through your insurance company?”
Recovery cost
John Thorpe of Utter Morris Insurance in Burlington confirmed that the recovery cost is included in auto insurance packages. He said he was unaware of the local fee change for motor vehicle accidents.
“I had not heard anything about the local fire department charging for attending accidents within their own community,” said Thorpe. “It would be covered by the auto insurance policy, which says they (the insurance company) will pay the fire department charges for which you (the driver) are legally responsible for as a result of an insured peril, which would be an accident.”
Thorpe added that although it is covered by insurance, the cost of the recovery fee will ultimately be passed on to the consumer.
“The issue is whether they should be doing this or not,” he said. “If they download the cost to insurance companies, you can be sure the insurance companies will end up passing that cost along to the people who pay for the insurance.”
Mintz said the recovery fee only covers a small portion of the total cost for the fire department to respond to a motor vehicle accident.
“This is only a minor cost recovery when you take into account the hourly rate of the firefighters and the wear and tear on the vehicles and the equipment,” he said.
Previously, only out-of-town residents involved in accidents in Burlington were billed. The cost was a flat rate of $350, which was divided among the number of drivers. Burlington drivers were not charged for their portion.
“We’ve been absorbing the cost of the other driver or drivers, so what this allows us to do is achieve a full recovery for the accident,” Mintz said.
Currently, Oakville, Milton and Hamilton fire departments only charge out-of-town drivers involved in accidents. Fire departments from all three communities told the Post there was nothing on their radar about charging residents for motor vehicle accident response. The Milton Fire Department only started charging out-of-town drivers involved in accidents this year.
Mintz said the local fire department surveyed 83 departments across Ontario on motor vehicle accident recovery fees; 46 report billing non-residents, 21 bill both and 16 don’t bill at all.
Of 12 comparator departments, six, including Brantford, Barrie, Kitchener, Richmond Hill, Vaughan and Markham, are billing both residents and non-residents. Mintz said fees varied among those departments, with some charging a flat $350 fee and others charging $350 per truck per hour, with $175 for subsequent hours. He said that while the Burlington Fire Department survey did not include a materials fee inquiry, he believes most are charging for materials used.
“It is a trend in the fire service now and it’s not intended to be a burden, but more of a cost recovery for products and materials that aren’t necessarily part of our core service,” he said.
Dan VanderLelie, president of the Burlington Fire Fighters’ Association, said he was surprised to hear about the new fee system, as the association isn’t involved in the budgeting process. He’s worried the fee may prevent people involved in serious motor vehicle accidents from calling 911.
“Our concern is that members of the public may think twice about calling for emergency medical services,” VanderLelie said. “We don’t want people to take undue risk who may be injured, but don’t want to call.”
The new fee system is expected to bring in around $130,000 for the city this year.
The Burlington Fire Department generally responds to more than 1,000 motor vehicle accidents per year. In 2009, that number was more than 1,200 or about 12 per cent of all fire calls.
“While it (the number of motor vehicle accident responses) is not hugely burdensome, it does consume well over 10 per cent of our time and depending on the time of year, based on weather and those type events, sometimes we are busier,” said Mintz. “The motor vehicle accidents detract or diminish our ability to respond to fires and when that occurs, it creates a bit of a burden on the system.”
Mintz also cited the rationale that many people are protected under their insurance policies.
“In essence, this is a cost-recovery program and one that is handled by insurance companies anyway,” he said. “The owner gets the invoice and they pass it on to their insurance companies, who pay for it. This is something that is included in everyone’s insurance policy and is part of the cost for the individual, so it is no different than the insurance company being given an invoice if a vehicle was to damage a guardrail or telephone pole or light standard. The recovery is part of that, as well.”
The bill will be sent to the driver approximately 14 days after the accident, according to Mintz. Names are provided by the police, who supply the fire department with the accident report. Mintz said the department will be sensitive to fatalities, using latitude in those situations.
The flat fee will be charged whether the fire department is required to take action or not.
“It’s a flat response fee,” Mintz said. “We’re required by law to respond to emergencies and as such, if the vehicle is deployed, it is deployed.”
Copyright 2010 Toronto Star Newspapers, Ltd.