By Kelly Morgan,Staff Writer

PARIS – The town may soon start charging insurance companies when the Paris Fire Department responds to motor vehicle accidents.

Fire Chief Brad Frost has been working on a billing proposal since an October joint meeting with Norway and Oxford, when the idea was discussed at length. On Thursday, he said he still was working on the details. A final version of the proposal will go before the town’s policy committee on Feb. 1, and the policy would have to be approved by the Paris Board of Selectmen before taking effect.

“I don’t want to make money, I just want to recoup some of my costs,” Frost said, adding that he expects to charge a flat fee of between $200 and $500. Drivers’ insurance companies will be billed directly, he said.

Frost said the Fire Department has been called to more accident scenes over the years. In December alone, he said, “Route 26 and 119 were very heavily infested with accidents.”

Norway and Oxford also have seen increases in accidents and related fire department calls, and each town has taken an interest in new billing methods.

The Oxford Fire Department already bills for medical services and vehicle extrications, and recently started charging for materials used for hazardous waste cleanups and the like, said Deputy Fire Chief Scott Hunter.

“It’s not an awful lot of money,” he said. “If I’m going to dare guess, it’s probably right around $5,000 (annually).”

However, he said, the income helps offset equipment costs in an age when fire departments rely on a wide range of equipment. He said a new firetruck costs between $250,000 and $500,000.

Hunter added that taxpayers often are footing the bill for supplies and equipment used to respond to a growing number of accidents involving out-of-state vehicles. By charging drivers’ insurance companies for responding to an accident, he said, those using the services help pay for the costs.