A survey published today claims that Donegal County Council has the third-highest charge in the County when it comes to fire callouts. The €1,000 fee is based on the number of fire vehicles required, irrespective of the duration of the callout.
The survey which is published in the Irish Examiner reports that households in some counties could have to pay more than a thousand euro to have a fire put out.
Insurance Ireland said call-outs are only covered where there’s damage to property that’s insured.
The highest charge was seen in Westmeath, where a one-hour call-out to a domestic blaze could set homeowners back 1,350 euro.
This was closely followed by Cork, with similar calls charging 1,320 euro.
When it comes to the counties in the northwest the survey claims Donegal Co Council had the third-highest charge, but their €1,000 fee is based on the number of fire vehicles required, irrespective of the duration of the callout.
All figures sourced in the investigation relate to a hypothetical situation where two fire vehicles are deployed for one hour.
In a number of other counties, fees are displayed on a ‘per station’ basis, as is the case in Sligo and Leitrim. If two vehicles are dispatched from a single station to deal with a fire, the homeowner will be charged a set fee for one station.
