Comments on: Should people be charged for search and rescue?

By: Jacklin

Jacklin — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 20:51:54 +0000

I tnink the problem with just charging people that were “reckless” and/or negligent or just plain stupid, how do you decide that? I think it would be a really thin line to draw in a case like that. And the idea of the rescuee or victim having insurance I guess is a good idea, but what if they are charged for a rescue? Who do you think ultimately pays that final cost to the insurance company? The other policy holders as well. i.e. Taxpayers.

Maybe in the end, the best thing to do, is to have a kiosk in the park, or entrance to where ever, that makes you rent out a satilite. phone, search beacon etc… and charge a reasonable fee to all persons entering. And then the fees collected go into the SAR fund.

Think about it… you people out there that are saying that the rescued should have to pay for SAR, what if you were that person? I bet your outlook would be alot different.

By: Justin

Justin — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 17:49:22 +0000

I think that people should be fairly charged for their stupidity.. Though there are accidents and that’s exactly what they are, accidents. Though there are unprepared people, and poor choices that lead people to get in these pickles. Though I think that even the seasoned hiker has made poor choices and went out on a hike ill prepared, he just got lucky that day. So I guess it depends on how the dice roll.

By: Robert Gould

Robert Gould — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 23:03:49 +0000

If you get a hundred searchers and a helicopter or two involved, along with police, logistics, etc for a multi-day search, you can easiily run up many times that amount, even before missed wages of volunteers and injuries are factored in. If someone is facing this kind of bill, they will put off calling for help much longer, making their rescue much harder and / or less likely. Cost reimbursement should be persued only in cases of extreme carelessness or recklessness. The case of false alarm from the locator beacon should be treated the same as a false fire call, scaled to reflect the cost of response by helicopter (some FDs “forgive” one false alarm).

By: Brian Densmore

Brian Densmore — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 22:45:26 +0000

First, this case is much more complicated. As I recall it is at least debatable that this individual was “rescued,” he walked out with an ankle injury and was not actually the person that called for help. (Even if HE did not walk out, others have and the public reaction was to charge the person)

In this case for sure, many outdoor experts praised this individuals survival skills, thus negating most any issues of “stupidity.”

As for the $25,000, this case involved two helicopters, which are very expensive to operate. Even still, costs in this case were inflated because helicopters came from further away than normal.

To lessen the taxpayer costs even more, most of the time helicopters are called, military helicopters are used. The military uses the real life missions for training. This means that you, as a tax payer, can either pay for a helicpopter to fly in circles for (say) 4 hours, or you can pay for 4 hours of flight time to potentially save a life. (Although I don’t know in this case where the helicopters came from)

Lastly, all states and the federaly government have statues for “crying wolf.” It’s called false reporting or lying to an officer. Martha Stewart famously went to jail for a year for it. The problem lies with the fact that what I call an emergency is not necessarily what you call an emergency.

By: bob doucette

bob doucette — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 18:24:31 +0000

Yeah, $25,000 seems like a lot. My guess is they’re taking into account such thngs as man hours, fuel, etc. But 25 grand seems like a lot. As far as “crying wolf,” many cities and states do fine people for instances like that. Can’t give you a specific example, but it happens.

By: James Conn

James Conn — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 17:38:47 +0000

I’d like to see an itemized statement that would justify a $25,000 charge. It seems like the hospital charging $8 for a single aspirin.

People should be penalized for “crying wolf” or calling for help for non-emergency situations.