ELYRIA — The elaborate rope rescue of a 51-year-old man who was seriously injured one week ago after falling 25 feet onto a cliff near the Black River has prompted the Elyria fire chief to call for new legislation that would charge victims for their rescues.
On Monday, Fire Chief Rich Benton talked about the Sept. 26 rescue in terms of its monetary cost to the city and used it as an example to illustrate cases that go beyond normal rescues and end up costing the city money. In those cases, he said, the city should move to recover the costs from the at-fault party.
“This case was outside the norm of what a typical response from the Fire Department should be,” Benton said. “He was in a part of the city that is closed after dark, trespassing and getting into a situation that a reasonable citizen would not in the normal course of a day.”
Joseph Hurlbut of Elyria was rescued in a process that took about two hours using ropes and a basket.
“It tied up all of the firefighters for more than two hours and cost more than $2,000 in overtime to cover the stations while they were tied up on this call,” Benton said. “It’s not fair for taxpaying residents to have to pay for this kind of rescue. We have to establish a policy that if you are in the act of breaking the law, you will have to pay the cost of the rescue.”
Hurlbut, who authorities believe was intoxicated, was charged with criminal trespassing.
Benton said he does not think cost recovery should extend to residents who are injured or in need of fire assistance for a motor vehicle accidents or fires, which are covered through their tax dollars, he said. However, he said he would imagine that some costs could be assessed to insurance companies.
Assistant Fire Chief Bob Dempsey said several factors made the rescue of Hurlbut more difficult. It was dark and it was initially hard to find Hurlbut, who had fallen down a hill and broken his leg while walking with a friend on a trail behind the Police Department, near West Avenue and Kerstetter Way, Dempsey said.
Hurlbut fell shortly after 5 a.m. onto the riverbank and became wedged in between some rocks.
“Essentially we needed two different rescue systems and two groups of guys to do the work. It was very labor intensive,” Dempsey said.
An entire shift of 17 firefighters was needed to utilize two different rope and pulley systems. The first rescue involved bringing Hurlbut from the riverbank to the trail he fell from and then a second rescue had to be used to pull him from the trail to Forest Street, where LifeCare was waiting to take him to the hospital.
“It went well given the location of the victim and the conditions of the darkness, but this was a very treacherous area that required a careful and deliberate operation,” Dempsey said.
Elyria Law Director Terry “Pete” Shilling said the city is well within its rights to seek recovery for services rendered. And, although there is nothing on the books now, he said, the idea has come up before.
“The only thing we have tried to go after is recovery from people serving time in jail,” he said. “But it was determined those people couldn’t pay anyway.”
Shilling said the matter likely will be referred to the Finance Committee for further discussion. He said he will research similar legislation in other cities to determine how Elyria should proceed if Council moves in that direction.
“We charge for lot mowing, a service we render when residents do not, so I don’t see how we could not extend that to other areas,” he said. “But whatever is charged has to be reasonable. It cannot be an outrageous penalty.”
The practice of billing for services rendered is not unusual and is gaining popularity nationally as first responders are grappling with tight budgets and decreasing revenue.
But it is not a way for departments to make money or balance budgets, said Mike Rivera, co-founder and chief business development officer for Fire Recovery Inc., a California-based company that bills insurance companies for service rendered by fire departments on behalf of fire departments.
“For over 20 years, fire departments have been billing, and it is nothing new,” he said. “This is not a source of revenue that can be counted on, but merely cost recovery.”
Rivera said almost always, a resident is not billed. Typically, it’s the insurance company of the at-fault driver in a car crash or the property owner in the case of fire.
“I know of very few fire departments that bill actual residents,” he said. “I can’t speak for all companies, but my company is not a collection agency. We look at insurance policies and bill when it’s applicable. The reality is taxes are down and fire departments do not have enough to cover their expenses. They are running in the red, and wouldn’t taxpayers rather have insurance companies pay? And insurance companies pay us 90 percent of the time.”
Shilling said in the event a person does not have insurance, but is facing criminal charges related to their rescue, a judge could award restitution to the city, which could recover the costs.
Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com.
