Fire service charges £27,000 for callouts in West Midlands

Under law, the service has always been able to charge for non-emergency cases, but it did not begin to enforce charges until last May. The aim was to stop firefighters being called out to people stuck in lifts, locked out of their home or residents whose houses have been flooded.

In those instances, fire chiefs say there are other organisations to call instead of firefighters.

It has today emerged that the service has invoiced residents a combined £26,839.78 since May, to underline its message that people should not call 999 when it is not an emergency.

West Midlands Fire Authority chairman Councillor John Edwards, himself a former firefighter, said: "It is just common sense.

"We're firefighters. We're not locksmiths and we're not plumbers. The message is don't call the fire service out if they're not the right people for the task.

"If a fit and healthy person is locked out of the house, they should call their landlord to fix the lock, not the fire service."

The service came in for criticism last May, when it said people calling for non-emergencies would face a charge of £412.80 per hour for every appliance or specialist vehicle sent.

Opposition said the public should not be charged extra for callouts as the service is funded by a precept, included with council tax.

However, Councillor Edwards stressed that the figures underlined the service's message. He said: "The idea of charging was never to make a pocketful of money, but keeping firefighters free to do their proper jobs."

Firefighters say their biggest priorities are tackling fires, car crashes and other emergencies and providing safety advice.

In the first 10 weeks of the charges being enforced, the service invoiced 17 people for around £10,000 in total. That amount represented around seven per cent of the 260 callouts that may have incurred charges during that period.