Chimney fires more expensive than cleaning, council hears

THE cost of calling a fire brigade is too high and the public need to be made aware that there are waivers available, this week’s meeting of Kilkee Town Council heard.

A written report from fire officer Adrian Kelly stated that the cost of getting a domestic chimney fire tackled is €150, while for other types of fire the actual cost is charged.
Mr Kelly made the point that attending chimney fires is much more expensive than cleaning chimneys. “For information purposes, the average cost of attending a chimney fire is in the region of €1,100 to €1,300. It costs from €35 to €60 to get a chimney cleaned.”
He also claimed that the county council could offer waivers and discounts. “For all instances where persons make representations to the council citing financial hardship, due consideration is given on a case by case basis. However, it must be noted that premises and motor insurance policies generally provide for cover to include for fire service charges.
“There has been a system in place for a number of years for chimney fire charges, both for old age pensioners and for persons in receipt of Social Welfare. In the case of old age pensioners, where the officer in charge is aware or becomes aware that the person is in this category, he refers to this in the fire report and then no bill will issue. In the case of persons in receipt of social welfare, there can be up to a 50% waiver when we are made aware of the fact.”
Councillor Claire Haugh introduced the motion asking for the cost of call-outs to be reduced and she said she was aware of a fire, to which the authorities hadn’t been called, because of the cost. “There was a chimney fire in town adjacent to a number of other houses, and after a couple of hours it burned out. I asked them why they didn’t call the fire brigade and they said because there was a high cost and they couldn’t afford the €150,” Ms Haugh said.
She said that they hadn’t been aware that there was a waiver scheme available and that the course of action they had taken could have had “drastic consequences.” She also said that old age pensioners were not aware of the benefits available to them.
Councillor Michael McGrath said that the charges had increased very significantly in recent years, while Councillor PJ Lardner said he knew of a man who had got a bill that was described as “astronomical even if you were a millionaire”.