The Batavia Fire Department is asking the city council to adopt an ordinance allowing it to charge senior communities and assisted-care facilities for helping uninjured people who fall and can't get up.
The committee of the whole unanimously supported the proposal and sent it to the council for a vote. Fire Chief Randy Deicke said about one-third of lift-assistance calls the department receives are from assisted-care facilities.
When firefighters arrive, a staff member is often waiting for them rather than assisting the resident who has fallen, Deicke said.
When firefighters assist in the lift, he said, "the liability goes to the city."
Deicke proposed the department charge facilities $250 for each call to alleviate that liability. If a firefighter is injured while assisting someone, the responsibility to the city could include time off due to injury, overtime and workman's compensation.