The Roanoke Rapids Fire Department has requested that city council approve a plan which would allow it to use a third-party for billing insurance companies for cost recovery of emergency services.

City council at its work session Tuesday night indicated by consensus it agrees with the plan and will continue to study it.

Fire Chief Jason Patrick said this morning the money received, should an ordinance be adopted, would be used to offset operating expenses of the fire department.

For example, the fire department used foam to help a volunteer fire department fight a fire where 35 to 40 tires were burning. A 5 gallon bucket of the foam is about $130. 

In the gallery: Estimates on costs the fire department could have recovered in 2019, first photo, and in 2020, second photo, along with charts on the itemization of various services

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City Manager Joseph Scherer wrote in a memo to city council that most insurance policies contain language specifying coverage for automobile accidents and emergency incident services. If the insurance companies are not billed, they retain the money. “The program can be set up to only charge insurance companies with nothing coming out-of­-pocket of our residents.”

The company the city is looking to contract for the service is Fire Recovery USA, which is based in California.

Patrick told council that Burlington, Gaston, Greensboro, Oxford, and Durham, are some of the cities and towns in North Carolina which employ the company’s services.

Scherer wrote in the memo the company offers cost solutions to fire departments in 42 states. 

All data entry and billing is done using their web-based portal or their free mobile app in the field. “Their system allows for 100 percent transparency in the billing process so that we can know where they are on each claim in the system.”

To put the plan in place, council would need to approve an ordinance to give the company the legal authority to bill for its services.

The company charges 22 percent of what it collects and is paid only when collections are made.

“We will do our due diligence,” Scherer said. “We will have the city attorney verify it.”

In information provided to the city for discussion of the matter, the company said, “Appropriately recovering the costs of high impact events is becoming the new standard.”

The company said the methods it uses result in more than 90 percent recovery with fluid-based motor vehicle crashes with hazardous materials spills and more than 70 percent of all billable events.

The company offers fund recovery for motor vehicle crashes, hazmat cleanup, vehicle fires, structure fires, special rescues, water-based responses and fire inspections.