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Fire Service Charges
Under the Fire Services Act, 1981 “a fire authority shall be entitled to charge users or beneficiaries of a fire service for services which it provides.”
An invoice will be sent for each incident which Galway Fire & Rescue Service is alerted to with the following exceptions:
- Fatality
- Charitable organisations
- Incidents where we cannot determine the owner’s details, for example rubbish fires on open ground
- Incidents involving cars with foreign registration numbers unless owner details are given on report
- Reports with no details, for example call to RTC but call cancelled before arrival.
An invoice will only be cancelled in the following circumstances:
- When a passerby alerts the fire service to an incident where the fire service are not required, i.e. no equipment used or duties carried out
- When two or more parties are involved in a road traffic collision and payment is received from the liable party
- In the case of a vehicle fire or road traffic collision when an invoicee states in writing that it was not their vehicle involved in the incident
- In the case of a road traffic collision when an invoicee confirms in writing that they were not at fault for the incident
- Invoicee states in writing that the incident did not occur on a property/premise owned by them
- The invoicee has passed away.
Rates of Fire Service Charges
The rates of Fire Service Charges have been set out by Galway County Council under manager’s order number 7646.
The current fees are set out in the downloadable Manager's Order below and came into effect from 1st January 2012:
Fire Services Charges
Fire Services Charges (pdf, 544 kbs, Last Updated: Mon, 21 Nov 2011 12:41:00 GMT)
What You Should Do Once You Receive an Invoice
In cases where the property/vehicle is covered by insurance, you are advised to contact your insurance company as they may be in a position to cover the charge.
There are a number of different payment options for invoices for Fire Service Charges:
- Detach the remittance slip from the bottom of the invoice and post it with your payment to the Finance Section, Galway County Council, Prospect Hill, Galway.
- To make payment in person please go to the cash desk which is situated on the ground floor of Galway County Council, Prospect Hill, Galway.
- To make payment by laser or credit card contact the cash desk in Galway County Council on 091 509132/195 quoting the invoice number for the fire service charge.
- If you wish to make payment by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), Galway County Council’s bank details are as follows: Bank of Ireland, Eyre Square, Account Number 10051856, Sort Code 90 38 16. Please quote the invoice number for the Fire Service Charge on the EFT so that your payment can be recognised.
In cases where the property is not covered by insurance and you are not in a position to pay the charge you may apply for a waiver. The waiver system is in place for old age pensioners, people in receipt of social welfare or people on a low income. If you feel you may be eligible for a waiver please contact Galway Fire Station on 091 570900 to request a waiver form or download below:
Waiver Form
Fire Service Attendance Charges - WAIVER (pdf, 664 kbs, Last Updated: )
