Sandy Springs Fire Department proposes charging businesses for non-emergency services

Sandy Springs is considering charging businesses a fee for non-emergency services performed by the city’s fire department.

Fire Chief Keith Sanders told the Sandy Springs City Council during its Jan. 16 work session that if firefighters have to help nursing home or assisted living residents back in bed after a fall, then the business should compensate the city for this non-emergency service.

Sanders said the fire department gets 50 to 70 calls a year for lift assists, which keep firefighters and vehicles out of service for a half hour or more.

“The owners of these companies refused to allow the employees that work there to assist these residents,” Sanders said.

He said most of the facilities have told them that it’s too much of a liability for their employees to help residents who have fallen, so they call 911 to have the fire department do the work.

The fire department would charge the business — not the individual — for any lift assist calls. The rate would be $225 per half hour per fire personnel. With three firefighters per truck, that would be $675. If the fire department got more calls from the same facility within 30 days, the fee charged would increase to as much as $450 per half-hour per firefighter.

The fire department also would charge to keep fire trucks on standby at vehicle accident sites on I-285 or GA 400. Sanders said when large-scale accidents happen on these highways, the state has contracts with wrecker services to clear the roadways within a certain amount of time. However, the fire department stages a large fire truck on the road to keep the scene safe until the wrecker service arrives.

He said the city might recover some of its costs through commercial insurance companies. The rate would be $440 per hour, with a four-hour minimum.

Another issue arose in December 2022 during a cold snap when dozens of apartment units flooded because of burst pipes, which stopped sprinklers from operating. The apartment complex is supposed to have someone stationed on a fire watch until the sprinklers are fixed, but they often fail to do this.

Sanders said if the fire department must station someone at an apartment or business on fire watch, then the city should be compensated. A $75 per hour per fire personnel rate was suggested.

Any hazardous materials cleanup the fire department has to perform that should be the responsibility of a business would be charged back to the business at cost.

The full city council plans to vote on the fire department service fees proposal at its Feb. 6 meeting.

This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with Rough Draft Atlanta.