(A) The Fire Department shall provide emergency ambulance service within the City. The Fire Department may provide for emergency ambulance service by using City ambulances, apparatus or equipment, or through an interlocal agreement with another governmental entity. In a catastrophe, the Fire Department may provide emergency ambulance service through the use of the ambulances, apparatus or equipment of another governmental entity, with or without an interlocal agreement, or through the use of private ambulance providers, as determined necessary by the Fire Chief.
(B) Ambulance service fees shall be in the applicable amounts designated in the Master Fee and Rate Schedule, Article VII, Section
10.85, of Chapter
10.
(C) The person receiving emergency ambulance service and any person contracting for the service shall be responsible for payment of the fee. A hospital requesting emergency ambulance service for the purpose of this article shall be considered the party responsible for payment of the fee. In case of service received by a minor, the parent or guardian shall be responsible for payment of the fee.
(D) Expenses for emergency medical services described in this subsection that are received by any Garland resident will be billed to the individual's health insurance company. Any unpaid balance remaining after payments are received from the insurance company will be charged off by the City.
(E) Any person or entity that owns or possesses hazardous material involved in a hazardous materials incident within the City, or any party or entity that intentionally, recklessly, or negligently causes or is responsible for a hazardous materials incident within the City, shall be liable for all expenses or costs incurred by the City, including but not limited, associated salary and overtime, as well as, any expenses or costs incurred by third parties which provide assistance to abate and remediate such an event. The remedy provided by this section shall be in addition to any other remedies provided by law.
(1) For the purposes of this section, "hazardous materials" shall be defined as any substances or materials in a quantity or form which, in the determination of the Fire Chief or his authorized representative, poses a risk to persons, property or the environment, and shall include, but not be limited to, such substances as explosives, radioactive materials, petroleum products, poisons, compressed or liquefied gases, etiologic (biologic) agents, oxidizers, corrosives, carcinogens, cryogens and organic peroxides.
(2) For the purpose of this section, "hazardous materials incidents" shall be defined as the release, or potential release, of a hazardous material from its container into the environment.
(3) For the purposes of this article, "direct or indirect costs suffered by the City, and any agencies which assist to abate and remediate such an event," included but are not limited to, direct and indirect costs and expenses attributable to the abatement or cleanup of any hazardous materials incident, including costs of personnel, costs of equipment operations, costs of materials and supplies, costs of protective equipment, costs of specialists, experts, or other contract labor utilized by the City, disposal costs, overhead costs, overtime costs, and any other incidental costs incurred by the City. The responsible party shall be billed for the recovery of the costs.
(F) The Fire Department may be called upon to provide emergency incident response and service to certain vehicular crashes, vehicle fires, hazardous conditions, and special rescues within the City. In that regard, the Department may use City ambulances, apparatus, or equipment, or enter into an interlocal agreement with another governmental entity for such response and service. The Fire Department shall attempt to recover related expenses, through fees, listed in the Master Fee and Rate Schedule, Article VII, Section
10.85, of Chapter
10, as "Emergency Incident Recovery Fees."
(Ordinance 4132, sec. 1, adopted 9/15/87; Ordinance 4619, sec. 1, adopted 8/15/92; Ordinance 4711, sec. 1, adopted 9/21/93; Ordinance 5010, sec. 1, adopted 9/17/96; Ordinance 5376, sec. 2, adopted 6/15/99; Ordinance 5445, sec. 2, adopted 3/7/00; Ordinance 5720, sec. 1, adopted 4/1/03; Ordinance 5847, secs. 1, 2, adopted 9/7/04; Ordinance 6201, sec. 1, adopted 2/19/08; Ordinance 6260, sec. 1, adopted 9/2/08; Ordinance 6319, sec. 1, adopted 6/2/09; Ordinance 6497, sec. 1, adopted 11/1/11; Ordinance 6559, sec. 1, adopted 7/17/12; Ordinance 6672, sec. 1, adopted 2/4/14; Ordinance 7051 adopted 5/7/19; Ordinance 7363 adopted 9/6/2022; Ordinance 7557 adopted 10/8/2024; Ordinance 7638 adopted 12/2/2025)
