Fire district can bill insurance companies for equipment use
BUTLER TWP — The Butler Township Volunteer Fire District now can bill insurance companies when firefighters use department equipment at an emergency scene.
The township’s board of commissioners voted Monday to give the fire district this ability, which township solicitor Rebecca Black said is common for municipal volunteer fire departments. She said it gives a fire company the legal backing to recoup service costs.
“It defaults to the property owner, but with specific permissions in there that would give the fire chief the authority to bill additional parties if he or she determined that they were the responsible party,” she said.
Scott Frederick, the township’s director of emergency services, said the department now has no way to recoup money expended when responding to an emergency.
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