NOT NICE

AGUY WAS FINED OVER$5300.00 FOR BEING RESCUED FROM SCUGOG GO TO QUINTE BOARD FOR FULL DETAILS

LOOKS LIKE THE FIREMEN OVER THAT WAY WERE TRAINED BY ONT. HYDRO,

ENJOY HAPPYHOOKER

Here we go again. Will not go thru.

Scugog fire dept. charges man for rescue off the ice

One late night you wake up to the smell of smoke. You walk out your bedroom only to notice flames shooting up the stairs. Trapped, you call 911 and tell them you can’t get out as your only exit is blocked with fire. The Fire dept. shows up and before they rescue you, they ask your name and billing address so they can send you a bill for your rescue. Sound insane?

Ask Oshawa resident Neil Robbescheuten who was stuck on Lake Scugog while ice fishing and had to call 911. He found himself disoriented with the fog rolling in and crashed through the ice. Lucky enough he wasn’t in that deep of water but his feet became stuck in the mud and he couldn’t move them.

He calls 911, the Scugog Fire dept. shows up and pulls him to safety. They ask for his name then the next thing he knows, he receives a bill in the mail for almost $5,400.

This is one of those things that make you say, “what the….”
I always thought the men and women of our fire dept. were paid to perform rescues. How can they charge anyone for this is beyond comprehension? Can you explain the difference between getting cut out of a car crash to being pulled off the ice?

I am going to go out on a limb here and say they will tell you it was an unnecessary rescue and waste of their time, as the fisherman shouldn’t have been on the ice if it wasn’t 100% safe. A couple things wrong with that, if that is their reasoning. First, how do you know the ice is safe unless you go on it and drill holes to see? Secondly, if that is the reasoning they’re using, then what about that huge pileup we had here last Friday on the 401, couldn’t they say those people shouldn’t have been driving and bill all of them for being rescued?

I hope the Scugog Fire department and council rethinks this billing for rescue crap. Thousands of people from southern Ontario use that lake for fishing and snowmobiling in the winter. These people buy food, gas, and supplies. They visit the local shops and restaurants in town. Does council want to see the winter tourism there disappear?

wonder, how much anybody will inwest in good GPS? Or even compass? insted of have the bill for 5000.00?

Guess we need to take the 5th from now on.

I would fight this one in court all the way.

Responders are paid good money for just that.emerg. rescues

Last fall, Chief Miller told councillors he would ask his firefighters to try to collect personal information from anyone rescued specifically so that Scugog could try to recoup some of its costs.

But, "they're under no obligation to do that," said Chief Miller in October. "We want the information for billing purposes and if they offer that information and sign off on it, then we'll send them a bill.

"But if they don't want to give us that information, there's nothing we can do."

This from the Fire Cheif, I agree with Shank, plead the 5th.

FatRap

Absolutley ridiculous they would charge him for this, and that amount! He simply got lost in the fog. Will this make people twice think before they call for help because there scared of a bill! This is what rescue services are for

Yes that is pretty bad that someone calls for help and you send them an outrageous bill.

OK so now that everyone is so scared they won't call 911 for help does that mean ( Heaven Forbid ) when they are called to do a recovery will they be billing the Widow.

To fight this the guy will want all the information like how many Fireman were sent, how much time it took, what size of truck and the break down on cost for all this. then go through it with a fine tooth comb and pick it apart.

What happens when you call an ambulance? An emergency service in which the workers are paid...
You get a bill in the mail.
Those paramedics arent risking their lives in the same way that firefighters or rescue workers are, and rescue services cost money. $5400 is extremely steep, that is for sure, but I dont see why the concept of a bill for a rescue is such a huge ordeal.

I agree a charge byt not 5000.00 maybe 500.00 like a fine.

Because once this pattern begins it will never end and costs will climb upwards, never down.

Consider this......we have people going to other countries that have a clear warning..not to visit.

they get into a jam.

Now we are talking hundreds of thousands of dollars to get them back home.

Do they pay.no, were they warned.yes

C'mon, we are a fishing community and we should stand together and fight for this . Sure people make errors, again not everyone is on fishing sites or listens to the news.

I'm going to say it again...if this trend continues and people advocate for payment for rescues, then it will soon be in the hands of the insurance Companies via policies......count on it

Maybe there is no community Just a bunch of people looking for spots and conditions.....

That's insane....

Maybe they won't go on the lake when it is unsafe again, maybe some others will learn from this too. Why should taxpayers flip the bill for stupid people

I agree with the 5400 bill he got. He should of known better to venture out on thin ice to begin with, then ad the warm spell and rain!he put not only himself at risk but the rescuers aswell. I say that thats a 5400 dollar bill for a lesson on when not to go on the ice.