The Fort Frances Fire and Rescue Service is looking at a property owner’s insurance policy as a way of recouping some of the costs of fighting a fire.
Fire Chief Tyler Moffitt says most policies includes the recovery of firefighting costs but only recently have fire departments across Canada started to collect.
He’s now proposing a fee structure allowing the local department to take advantage.
“No way does a homeowner that has a structure fire suffer from the insurance companies paying a fire department. They still get what they are insured for,” says Moffitt. “Usually the recovery rates is based on each individual policy. Some people have a specific amount in there. Some places don’t but it can range from a thousand to ten thousand dollars.”
Moffitt says those without insurance would not be billed.
He notes Thunder Bay’s fire department is currently billing insurance companies for their costs to fight a fire.
Members of town council’s administration and finance committee have not made a recommendation to the request.
They’re looking for more information on how the billing would impact one’s insurance policy.
