Insurance providers have a large variety of policies for home insurance. Please check your policy to assure you have adequate coverage for fire fighting cost (may be under fire suppression). The Summer Village of Sandy Beach pays for Fire Services to be on stand by. Once fire fighters arrive they charge a fee to the land owner of the fire. These fees can be very costly if you do no have adequate coverage. The Insurance companies only charge a small amount to increase fire fighting coverage. It is recommended you have a minimum coverage of $15,000.00. Please take the time to contact your insurance provider and assure you have coverage that will meet your needs.
EMERGENCY RESPONSE Public Service charges for Sandy Beach
Please note that any emergency response from our First Responder (Sturgeon County Fire Department - whether fire or medical assistance) will result in a public service charge ($1,000 to $2,400 range) that will be paid by the municipality first (upon receipt) and then charged back to the property roll. As soon as the invoice is received the charge will be added to your roll (standard accounting practice) and then a letter will be sent to you as a owner stating you have 90 days to pay the invoice from the day you receive the letter - make sure you have appropriate insurance which covers these type of costs as the charge from Sturgeon County will be paid to maintain a good standing relationship with our service provider and ensure residents can access these services.
As soon as you pay your invoice your roll will be cleared of the charge.
Its best to pay the invoice as soon as your receive it and then claim through your insurance.
Make sure any tenants or rentals are aware of these possible charges as the responsibility is on occupants, tenants and owners to make sure they monitor and douse all back yard fires (only designated fire pits please), comply with fire ban regulations and set backs, and execute responsible fire burn actions.
Please make sure your tenants are aware that the public service charge also relates to medical assistance that involves a Fire response/assistance from Sturgeon County.
Sturgeon County (Morinville) provides fire response services & ALL FIRE CALL OUTS will have a charge which ultimately will be added to your tax roll - as much as $2,000 - make sure you have insurance. The Village pays the bill up front when the County invoice us and then recover it against the roll. You will not be notified in advance of this charge but will receive correspondence with a copy of the invoice and a 90 day period to pay it. Faulty fire alarms are at the owners beck and call.
PLEASE NOTE that a EMS call can result in a fire dispatch too - here is the process clarification:
Sturgeon County Emergency Services is part of the Alberta Medical First Responder (MFR) Program. We as a fire department are dispatched to assist Alberta Health Services (AHS) based off an established call list with set criteria. AHS Medical calls are coded as Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta and Echo, Delta’s and Echo’s being the most serious.
Through the MFR program and established list we are dispatched accordingly, as a fire department we have said that we will respond to all Delta and Echo type calls amongst some others.
For example a “10D000 Chest Pain”… is A delta call. As per established protocol the fire department is automatically dispatched at the same time as the ambulance. Once on scene, if fire arrives first, patient contact and assessment is started, if AHS arrives first, we liaise with them and provide assistance as requested/required.
Here is excerpt from AHS website:
“Medical First Response Program
Medical First Response (MFR) agencies such as fire departments and community based volunteers contribute a valuable role in the care of patients before they arrive at a hospital. MFRs are key partners with Emergency Medical Services (EMS) that provide timely aid to patients and assist EMS when requested.
Alberta Health Services (AHS) has a responsibility to ensure patient care is delivered safely and to ensure responders are trained, prepared and supported to deliver that care.
AHS and Alberta Health, in collaboration with an expert advisory panel have developed a provincial model for Medical First Response.
The goals are:
- Build provincial standards for MFR service delivery
- Support the people and agencies providing MFR
- Promote safe patient care with medical oversight and patient care guidelines
For more information please explore the MFR Online Portal, email mfr@ahs.ca or call toll free 1-866-786-1440.”
Sandy Beach kindly thank you for your cooperation.
Receipts/Questions svsandyb@xplornet.ca