Who should pay the cost of fighting the Evergreen Recycle fire? - KSN-TV

Who should pay for the Evergreen Recycle fire fight?

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – One Sedgwick County commissioner is asking if the cost of fighting the Evergreen Recycle fire in Park City should be covered by taxpayers.

The fire, which started Sunday evening, was brought under control by Wednesday afternoon. The Sedgwick County Fire Marshal Brad Crisp says piles at Evergreen Recycle are still smoldering, but there are no flames. Firefighters are using backhoes and excavators to push the piles together so they can soak them with water.

Most of the crews will be released Wednesday night and three people will stay to monitor hot spots overnight and Thursday.

Commissioner David Dennis wants to know how much the county has spent on overtime battling this fire.

Sedgwick County Fire Department 1 Chief Doug Williams is saying he doesn’t have the overtime costs yet but doesn’t believe they’ll be excessive.

He said every firefighter will have at least a partial shift out at the scene, but they’ve worked to keep it to on-duty crews as much as possible after the first day.

“He called the mechanic Sunday night. Two of the three mechanics got reserve engines and came out, laid the hose, and did part of the relay pumping overnight Sunday, so a large part of our OT is going to be with our mechanics more than our fire personnel, said Williams.

He cautioned fire departments have not had success trying to bill insurance companies for costs in the past.

“We have to bill everybody. You can’t just selectively say this guy upset us, so we’re going to bill him you have to bill everybody, and I think that’s normally what causes the failures of these insurances to pay is the first thing they’re going to say is you didn’t bill last fire you went to,” said Williams.

Williams also reiterated the company has made a lot of requested changes since the 2022 fire, including larger fire stops and having smaller piles of product.

He said another option the county could pursue would be requiring a business to have 24-hour security on site to catch fires quicker and prevent spread. Commissioners did not take any action on further regulations.

Williams said the cause will likely be undetermined.