Foothills man gets $15,000 firefighting bill

Gary Campbell felt relief last fall when Boise firefighters extinguished the fire that ravaged his home in the rustic Wildhorse subdivision he developed near Table Rock.

Much of the home was saved, despite the fact that there are no fire hydrants nearby and the neighborhood is not in the city - or even in a fire district.

Now Campbell has to pay a $15,146.97 bill for the four engine company crews, a ladder crew, and crews operating the three water tender trucks. Because so much time had passed since the Nov. 4 fire, Campbell thought Boise fire officials might have changed their minds about billing him.

They didn't. In fact, this may be the first time the city has billed a homeowner outside the city limits or a fire protection district for firefighting services, fire officials said.

Campbell sent the bill to his insurance company but hasn't heard whether the bill will be covered.

"If (fire officials) would have brought it up right after the fire, I could have taken it to my insurance carrier," he said. "I don't know if this fits into my coverage.

"When you haven't heard from them in eight months and then a bill just shows up ... well, that is surprising."

What may be more surprising is that Wildhorse is not in a fire district and has no water supply to fight a large fire.

Boise firefighters had to haul water up to the blaze using tender trucks, driving back and forth between the house and the nearest hydrant several miles away. They also had to call in crews from Eagle and Meridian to have enough water tender trucks.

By the time the fire was out, half of Campbell's home was damaged by fire, water, and smoke and was temporarily uninhabitable. The family has since moved back in, and the home is slowly being fixed.

Campbell's Wildhorse subdivision has about 17 homes on lots that average about 30 acres each in the Foothills overlooking Boise.

Each of the homes in the subdivision has a well that provides water for the home and outside sprinklers. But those wells do not contribute to a common fire protection system.

Campbell said he has been trying to work out a deal with the Whitney Fire District for fire protection services, but fire officials say the one major and seemingly insurmountable problem is the lack of a major water source for either hydrants or in-house sprinkler systems - something the Fire District will not pay for.

"I told them, with all due respect, they created a huge problem," Whitney Fire Chief Ren Ross said. "There is nothing we can do to make up distance" to an adequate water supply for fire protection.

The cost to extend city water to the homes from Table Rock Road would be about $85 a foot, said Boise Fire Assistant Chief Dave Hanneman.

That could cost homeowners in the far-flung subdivision hundreds of thousands of dollars. The only other option they would have would be to build huge storage tanks near the homes, another cost-prohibitive measure.

"Ponds or swimming pools wouldn't work because we don't have the equipment to draft out of them," Hanneman said.

Another problem is access. There is only one road in and out of the subdivision.

"The two biggest requirements for fire protection are water and access," Ross said. "If we can't get there, we can't do any good."

And since Whitney Fire District - which provides fire protection to some areas of rural Ada County - is part of the Boise Fire Department, Ross said the district would not enter into an annexation agreement without Boise's approval.

Hanneman said the decision on whether to put out a fire in an area just outside the city limits remains problematic. Boise has a mutual aid agreement with Ada County paramedics in the subdivision for emergency medical services and with the BLM to help extinguish fire on public land in the Foothills.

Fire officials say they believe state code allows them to put out a fire in an unincorporated area and bill property owners for the cost, Hanneman said.

What is less clear is what Boise fire crews would do if another Wildhorse home caught fire, since the department has no obligation to do anything.

"Life safety is our biggest issue - we may be able to get up there and get everybody out, but not have the resources to put out a fire," Hanneman said. "It sure softens (the dilemma) when someone pays the bill."

Hanneman said such unincorporated developments as Wildhorse, which are close to the city but without adequate fire protection, put Boise firefighters in a "no-win" position.

"The central issue is how did this ever get built (without fire protection) in the first place?" said Ross, who retired as Boise fire chief in late 2007 before taking over the Whitney district.

Fire crews extinguished the Wildhorse fire last year after getting a 911 call just after 8 p.m. Nov. 4. They chose to attempt to fight the fire rather than watch it burn, Hanneman said.

It wouldn't be fair to Boise taxpayers to pay the bill for fire protection for homes outside of city limits, he said. It also means that when firefighters and equipment are sent outside the city they are not available for calls in the city, Hanneman said.

Campbell says he and his neighbors knew when they built they would not have fire protection and understood the risk. But he would like the subdivision to join a fire district to eliminate the confusion for Boise firefighters in the rare case of a fire.

"(Boise) has proved they have the ability to provide some fire service," Campbell said.

Despite the bill, Campbell said he is still grateful Boise firefighters saved his home.

"My family is alive - we are all OK," Campbell said. "That's all that really matters."

Patrick Orr: 373-6619