Could a Louisiana volunteer fire rescue unit bill accident victims' insurers for routine traffic-crash calls?

Plain-English summary

The Red River Parish sheriff asked whether a volunteer fire department's rescue unit could bill insurers of people involved in traffic accidents when called to a crash. In 2005, the Attorney General said the unit generally could not. The unit's volunteers were unpaid, and the proposed payments would go to the department, but the AG found no general statutory authorization to charge for ordinary rescue responses.

The opinion pointed to specific exceptions as evidence of the limit. La. R.S. 33:1974 authorized charges for extraordinary cleanup or firefighting expenses associated with a discharge of hazardous or nonhazardous material, under the statute's stated conditions. La. R.S. 30:2015 provided reimbursement for certain services approved by the secretary in response to a declared emergency. Those narrow provisions did not create a general power to bill accident victims' insurers for routine rescue calls. The AG also noted that the hazardous-discharge statute barred treating normal operating-budget costs as extraordinary expenses.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2005. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Could the rescue unit send an insurer a bill after an ordinary crash response?

The AG said no general charging authority allowed that under the law it reviewed. A call to a traffic accident alone did not fit the specific statutory reimbursement provisions it discussed.

Did volunteer status change the answer?

No. The request specified unpaid firefighters and that the department would receive the payments. The AG still concluded that the department lacked general authority to charge insurers for routine rescue operations.

When did the opinion identify a possible charge for fire services?

It cited La. R.S. 33:1974 for extraordinary expenses related to cleanup or firefighting after a hazardous or nonhazardous material discharge. That statute imposed its own conditions and required itemized documentation for charges.

Did a declared emergency provide another reimbursement route?

The opinion cited La. R.S. 30:2015(D) for reimbursements to local political subdivisions or volunteer fire departments for secretary-approved services responding to a declared emergency. It treated that as a separate narrow provision.

Background and statutory framework

The sheriff described an all-volunteer department whose equipment was bought with parish funds or grants. The AG said it found no statute or case directly addressing accident-rescue charges but inferred from the narrow grants of charging authority that a general charge required express legislation. It contrasted the proposed insurer bills with La. R.S. 33:1974's extraordinary-discharge costs and La. R.S. 30:2015's declared-emergency reimbursement.

Citations

• La. R.S. 33:1974 (specific charging authority and limits for extraordinary discharge-related expenses).
• La. R.S. 30:2015 and La. R.S. 30:2015(D) (declared-emergency reimbursement discussed by the AG).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/05-0333

Original opinion text

November 7, 2005
OPINION NO. 05-0333

47-A-1 FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT

La. R.S. 33:1961 et seq.
La. R.S. 33:1974
La. R.S. 30:2015
Mr. Johnny Norman, Sheriff
Volunteer fire department’s rescue unit may not generally charge Office of Red River Parish Sheriff insurers of individuals involved in traffic accidents, where the
P. O. Box 375
rescue unit is called to the scene, unless specifically authorized by
Coushatta, Louisiana 71019
statute to assess charges or claim reimbursement under specific
circumstances.

Dear Sheriff Norman:

You requested an opinion of this office on whether the volunteer fire department rescue unit of Red River Parish may charge insurance companies of individuals involved in traffic accidents, where the rescue unit is called to the scene. You advise that the fire department consists entirely of volunteer firemen who are not paid for their services, but that the department’s equipment was paid through parish funds and/or grants that the fire department receives. During a telephone conference, you further clarified that the fire department, and not the volunteer firemen, would receive the payments of the charges to insurance companies under consideration.

The issue you raise is not directly addressed in the statutes or case law, as no specific authorization of or prohibition against charges for rescue operations can be found. However, in a few instances, fire departments are expressly authorized by statute to charge for their services under very specific circumstances, suggesting that no such charges are allowed unless specifically and expressly authorized. For instance, where the fire department incurs extraordinary expenses in clean-up or fire-fighting operations associated with the discharge of hazardous or non-hazardous material, La. R.S. 33:1974 authorizes a local fire department to charge any person causing or contributing to such discharge. In pertinent part, that statute provides as follows:

A. Any fire department of a parish, municipality, or fire protection district, and any volunteer fire department shall have the authority to charge any person causing or contributing to a discharge of a hazardous or non-hazardous material or substance the extraordinary expenses associated with the following:

Page 2

Mr. Johnny Norman
Opinion No. 05-0333
Page 2

1. Undertaking any remedial actions necessary to contain, abate, clean up, restore, or remove the discharge.

2. Fighting a fire if such extraordinary expenses were incurred due to the presence of the material or substance which has been discharged.

B. The governing authority of any fire department of a parish, municipality, or fire protection district, and any volunteer fire department may charge an owner of immovable property onto or into which a hazardous or nonhazardous material or substance has been discharged the extraordinary expenses associated with the following if the property owner’s negligence in complying with applicable laws, regulations, and fire codes with respect to the material or substance which has been discharged was a cause in fact of such expenses:

1. Undertaking any remedial actions necessary to contain, abate, clean up, restore, or remove the discharge.

2. Fighting a fire if such extraordinary expenses were incurred due to the presence of the material or substance which has been discharged.

C. Any fire department assessing charges for its costs for actions taken as provided in this Section shall submit an itemized invoice with corresponding receipts, and an explanation of each item or service for which reimbursement is requested, including an explanation of the extraordinary nature of the costs incurred. However, costs for equipment, supplies, or other items or services which tend to create a normal operating budget for the department or that supplement the department's existing budget beyond actual allowable costs for actions taken as provided in this Section shall not be allowed.
[Emphasis added.]

Similarly, La. R.S. 30:2015 provides for reimbursements to local political subdivisions or volunteer fire departments under narrowly tailored circumstances. La. R.S. 30:2015(D) provides as follows:

D. The monies in the Environmental Trust Fund shall be used for the following purposes:

8. To make reimbursements to local political subdivisions or volunteer fire departments which incurred expenses in performing services approved by the secretary in response to a declared emergency.

Page 3

Mr. Johnny Norman
Opinion No. 05-0333
Page 3

In the absence of a legislative grant of general authority to fire departments to charge for their services or to claim reimbursements, and given the few instances of highly specific authorization, it is our opinion that the Red River Parish volunteer fire department rescue unit may not charge the insurer of individuals involved in traffic accidents, where the rescue unit is called to the scene. The legislature could have provided for such authority, but chose not to. The above conclusion is supported by the highlighted provisions of La. R.S. 33:1974(C) quoted above, which suggests that a fire department’s budget is deemed to include ordinary expenses, presumably including routine rescue operations. Needless to say, under specific circumstances (such as the incurrence of extraordinary expenses associated with clean-up operations involving the discharge of material), the fire department may find specific statutory authorization for charges or reimbursement under particular statutes such as those referenced above.

Very truly yours,

CHARLES C. FOTI, JR
Attorney General

By: ______
Uma M. Subramanian
Assistant Attorney General
CCF,Jr.:UMS:lrs

Page 4

OPINION NO 05-0333

47-A-1 FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT

La. R.S. 33:1961 et seq.
La. R.S. 33:1974
La. R.S. 30:2015

Volunteer fire department’s rescue unit may not generally charge insurers of individuals involved in traffic accidents, where the rescue unit is called to the scene, unless specifically authorized by statute to assess charges or claim reimbursement under specific circumstances.

Mr. Johnny Norman, Sheriff
Office of Red River Parish Sheriff
P.O. Box 375
Coushatta, La 71019

Date Received: August 15, 2005
UMA M. SUBRAMANIAN
Date Released: November 7, 2005 Assistant Attorney General