The all-volunteer Haletown Fire Department in Marion County, Tennessee, is seeking a subscription fee for fire service in its district so resident subscribers can avoid the response fees charged to nonsubscribers.
The basic fee is $35 per year for a residential home or commercial building between 40 and 4,000 square feet, Haletown Fire Chief Freddie Barnhill said Tuesday in a phone interview. He said as a nonprofit, donations to the department are tax deductible, and a list of charges for fire services ranges from a few hundred dollars to thousands that could be avoided with the $35 subscription fee.
Barnhill said it’s important to note the lack of a subscription doesn’t mean firefighters won’t respond to a fire at a nonsubscriber’s property.
“Regardless if a resident has paid or not, when those tones drop we’re coming,” Barnhill said, referring to the radio alert that uses audible tones to designate specific responders being notified.
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