Edmonton man fighting bill from fire department after Oct. house fire

Local man gets expensive fire bill He received a bill for $13,000 after his house burned down in October. CTV Edmonton’s Jeremy Thompson reports.

A man whose home was destroyed by fire said he’s confused and frustrated by a bill he got from Edmonton’s fire department.

“I said maybe by mistake this came to me,” said homeowner Woytek Stachowski.

About a month after starting the insurance process, Stachowski received an invoice for almost $13,000. It contained a list of costs for debris removal, like $2,200 for a vacuum truck, $285 for work lights and extension cords, even $19 for the carbon tax.

“It’s not insurance paying, they ask me to pay,” said Stachowski.

“I think as a taxpayer I shouldn’t get this at all.”

His councillor agrees.

“If you’re paying taxes, isn’t that for firefighting? So why are they sending out a bill?” said Mike Nickel, Ward 11 councillor.

Edmonton Fire Rescue Services said it all boils down to insulation.

“The cost on this invoice was for cellulose insulation removal, which is necessary to mitigate risk,” said a spokesperson from Edmonton Fire Rescue Services.

The insulation tends to smoulder for hours. In order to declare a fire out, fire officials said all of the insulation needs to be pulled down – extra work that is done by a contractor.

EFRS said it encounters this type of insulation a few times a month and bills tend to be between $11,000 and $13,000.

“If this happened on a regular basis, they should be prepared for this,” said Stachowski.

Edmonton Fire said insurance companies normally pay these types of bills, but have encountered push back recently. Homeowners are encouraged to find out what’s included in their insurance policies.

Stachowski’s insurance company has offered to pay the bill, but it will be deducted from his overall settlement, something he said is “unacceptable”.