By Christofer Machniak
Flint Journal (Michigan)
Copyright 2007 Flint Journal
All Rights Reserved
TYRONE TWP., Mich. — More appeals about a $1,100 flat rate for fire calls are hitting Township Hall, further prompting officials to look for ways to tweak the billing system.
The owner of an assisted living facility said he canceled a contract with a fire alarm monitoring company after getting a bill for a false alarm. The home tried to contact the fire department to stop the call after cooking smoke set off an alarm, but fire trucks arrived anyway.
“We simply can’t afford to pay for the fire runs on false alarms,” John Strayer, owner of Tanglewood Assisted Living, wrote in a letter to the township.
The appeals result from the township’s more aggressive stance on bill collection since pulling out of the Hartland Deerfield Fire Authority last year and contracting for fire services with Fenton and Fenton Township.
“The people in this township, they’re not aware that they voted to have their fire service billed,” Clerk Hod Morton said. “They turned it down. They didn’t want to belong to the fire authority.”
Officials are concerned that the price might be a deterrent to calling for help.
“We don’t want any citizen to feel afraid to call the 911 system that they’ll be charged,” Morton said.
Strayer said in his case there was an understanding with the fire department for years it wouldn’t respond if the home staff called to head off a false alarm, which happens once or twice a year. He said a new fire suppression system and cellphones onsite also made him comfortable with the switch.
Fenton Fire Chief Robert Cairnduff said the department’s policy has not changed and it will cancel a call if the situation warrants. He said a cooking fire makes for a potentially dangerous situation in which the department would always respond, especially at an assisted living facility.
Township Supervisor Andrew Schmidt said he has to investigate the Tanglewood’s circumstances before making any decision.
He hopes to be able to change the appeal process, which now allows him to grant or reject appeals, but not reduce bills. So far, he’s granted two appeals and denied three.
“They’ve got to pay, but they shouldn’t (always) have to pay $1,100,” Schmidt said. “Anytime you implement something new, you have some hiccups.”
Other appeals that are pending are those from a couple who asked that a carbon monoxide alarm be checked and another from a resident who specifically requested an ambulance.
Schmidt said the township can’t afford not to seek the reimbursement, noting the annual cost of the fire runs is $220,000, one of the highest township expenses.
In March, township officials said they planned to meet with the two fire chiefs over reprioritizing how 911 calls are dispatched in hopes to reduce the number of calls.