Want to call 911? Better get your credit card.

[Sionnach Glic]

Castle Hills to charge for 911 calls

A new ordinance gives you only one free call a y ear.

10:30 PM CST on Monday, February 16, 2009

Amanda Stanzilis, Reporter

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February 16th, 2009
Castle Hills First Responder Fee - Castle Hills will now charge you a $55 fee if EMT's are called to your house more than once in the same year.
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Forget your one phone call from jail. Castle Hills city leaders unanimously passed an ordinance that says you get one free phone call for EMT help once a year. It's called the First Responder's Fee. If you call 911 and EMT's respond to your house more than once in the same year, you'll be charged a $55 fine. City leaders say the goal is to recover some of the response costs, and to stop the overuse of the system.

Castle Hills EMT's contract with San Antonio EMS, and council members also blame needing the fee on the rising costs of those contracts. The city budgeted $215,000 in EMS fees to San Antonio for the current fiscal year. The Castle HIlls EMT's act as the first responders. The city says it needs help to pay for the cost of providing that service call.

One council member raised concerns the new ordinance would stop those on a limited income for calling for help even if they really needed it. But the ordinance passed unanimously.

The one free call does not include calling for police help or if you have an active fire.

[Captain Seafort]

One council member raised concerns the new ordinance would stop those on a limited income for calling for help even if they really needed it. But the ordinance passed unanimously.

One? One? Out of how many?

While the underlying principle of reducing frivolous emergency calls is a sound one, these idiots evidently don't have the nouse to consider the solution of giving the bill to those responsible for said frivolous calls.

[stitch626]

So if your house burns down twice in one year, your BBQ'd.

[Captain Seafort]

To be fair, they're not counting fires:

The one free call does not include calling for police help or if you have an active fire.

If you have two heart attacks in one year, however, you're screwed.

[Teaos]

Well to be fair we dont have all the information, they may have quite a massive amount of useless calls. I know people who have called 111 ( our emergency number) when they cut a finger.

If someone has a heart attact I doubt they will not call for help even if it will cost $50.

[Captain Seafort]

Well to be fair we dont have all the information, they may have quite a massive amount of useless calls.

Going by the article, they do have that problem. The solution is to give the bill to those who make the spurious calls - not to tar everyone with the same brush.

[Teaos]

How do you draw that line? A cut has to need a minimum of 6 stitches? A broken bone? Fingers don't count? Old people get preference.

Drawing those lines are always convoluted and making them vauge still scares people.

[Captain Seafort]

Drawing those lines are always convoluted and making them vauge still scares people.

And making hard and fast rules is stupid - every case is a judgement call. If people are too stupid or too afraid of lawsuits to trust the judgement of professionals then they can get knotted.

[Teaos]

Does that same arguement not apply to those who wont call a Ambulence if they really need it because they are to cheap?

[Tsukiyumi]

Does that same arguement not apply to those who wont call a Ambulence if they really need it because they are to cheap?

What, like me? I'm not paying $3000 to ride in a glorified RV.

[Teaos]

$3000? $3000? I know there is an exchange rate but I doubt it changes $55 to 3k...

[Mikey]

No, Tsu is talking about the actual cost of the ambulance ride (and I think he's underestimating a bit,) not of the call.

However, Seafort is right. When I was a kid (after they invented the telephone, of course,) one of the earliest things we were taught when able was how and why to dial 911 (our emergency number.) Now, you want to scare people away from it? Better than billing would be to prosecute people for spurious 911 calls.

[Mark]

All I can say is .

But seriously, when I was living in Las Vegas, they were considering something similar. If the EMTs came out and you DIDN'T need or accept a transport to the hospital, you had to pay. If you were full of shit, you had to pay. If it was a crank, you got arrested. Simple.

[Tsukiyumi]

What if someone else called?

I turned down EMT services once when a cop called them for me (despite my protests). I didn't have to pay.