November 14, 2009 in Washington Voices

Nonemergency calls costly to fire department

John Craig The Spokesman-Review

Spokane Valley Fire Department patrons could save some cash by calling a plumber instead of the fire department when their toilets back up.

Such calls are fairly common and sometimes are a source of amusement, but they also are expensive.

“Every call that comes to us, we pay a dispatch fee,” Assistant Fire Marshal Bill Clifford said.

The regional fire dispatching center covers its costs by charging the department $77.50 for each call the center handles. It makes no difference whether there’s a house on fire or clogged commode.

Clifford said several dubious calls in the past two weeks included …

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