Should you have to pay the costs of a rescue?

[Glenn MacGrady]

This article mainly discusses the rescuing of hikers, but the principle and question apply equally to canoeists who have to be rescued. Should those rescued have to pay the costs of the rescue, or should those costs be funded by the entire tax base as police and fire department costs generally are?

You Got Lost and Had to Be Rescued. Should You Pay?

The coronavirus pandemic sent a surge of inexperienced hikers into the wilderness. Many ran into trouble. Now states are looking to bill them for costly search and rescue operations.

www.nytimes.com

Some quotes from the article:

The coronavirus pandemic has led to a surge of inexperienced hikers venturing into the outdoors. And that in turn has increased the pressure on search and rescue teams, as well as the costs. Increasingly, states are looking for ways to penalize people who take unnecessary risks. But some question whether these laws might also discourage people from seeking help soon enough after putting their lives at risk because of an honest mistake.

New Hampshire passed a law in 2008 that allowed it to seek reimbursement if state officials deemed that a rescued person was negligent.
. . . .
Five other states — Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Vermont and Oregon — have similar laws allowing them to bill people for the cost of rescues in certain situations.
Hawaii has two bills pending that would allow search and rescue operators to seek reimbursement from those who strayed from hiking trails or intentionally disregarded a warning or notice, then had to be rescued.

And South Dakota passed a law to help offset search and rescue costs. In March 2020, Gov. Kristi Noem signed Senate Bill 56, allowing rescue agencies to charge each person as much as $1,000.

 

[Robin]

If there is a real injury or extreme weather I don’t think you should have to pay the cost of the rescue.
If you run rapids and loose your boat I’m on the fence.
If you need to be rescued because of gross negligence or poor planning, probably yes.
If you sprain a knee the second day of a 3 week trip and want out ASAP, or you loose your paddle and break your spare and call for a rescue, yea, I think you should pay*

*These two events happened in WCPP, 2010. I don’t know if they had to pay for the rescue but they had to pay someone to remove their canoes and gear, SAR wouldn’t take their gear, just the person.

 

[Abenakiregion]

New Hampshire law is aimed at people who are grossly negligent. When a rescue is initiated it puts in jeopardy all the rescuers involved. Here in the mountains it also takes about 18 rescuers per mile to bring out an injured person by litter. It should also be noted that in Maine and New Hampshire, it is the Warden Service that is in charge and bears the brunt of expense. Their only funding is through fishing and hunting licenses. At present, our resources are stetched to the limit and the trails and rivers are being hammered by casual recreationalists who believe being properly equiped is carrying a cell phone and dialing 911.

 

[yellowcanoe]

NH also has posted at all major trailheads a a list of what gear you should have ( and know how to use). Charges for rescue are only for gross negligence and not accidents like broken ankles when appropriate footwear is worn.
I am in favor of the charge in situations caused by negligence.

this buffoon should have been charged

Stranded kayaker rescued after taking 'social distancing to the next level'

The man started a fire and spelled out "HELP" with nearby sticks to alert authorities he was stuck on a remote island.

www.nbcnews.com

and this notorious one

https://www.adirondackexplorer.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Rescue-P1.pdf

https://www.adirondackexplorer.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Rescue-P2.pdf

 

[memaquay]

There is no charge in Ontario, but what really bothers me is the same helicopter used for traffic accidents and emergency hospital runs also does the backwoods stuff. Robin mentioned a guy who forgot his paddle on a port and broke the other one and called in the helicopter, and then was miffed when they wouldn't take his gear. If someone I knew missed a medivac for a heart attack or accident while that guy was "rescued", I would be most upset.

I maintain that one of the best things to do is make contact with a local before you go in, have some form of communication device, and if your situation is not dire, either call the guy in to get you, or have him phone one of the float plane bases for a private flight. You are going to have to get a plane to get your stuff out anyway, so cut out the middle man.

I have gotten many kids out of the bush who had semi serious problems, and only once had to call an ambulance, and that was a paramedic who made the call.

 

[Abenakiregion]

Some of the new tech gear such as InReach etc. that allows text msgs. has been a big help in not calling out the cavalry just because someone is behind schedule or has a non-debilitating injury.

 

[PaddlingPitt]

In 1997, Kathleen and I paddled the Seal River in northern Manitoba, which flowed into Hudson Bay about 70 km (45 miles) north of The town of Churchil. Our first choice was to paddle to Churchill, but in talking with the owner of the Seal River Lodge, he said, ”Don’t do it. We’re tired of fishing dead bodies out of the bay. You should paddle 6 km north to my lodge. Have a shower and a nice meal. And then I will fly you to Churchill.”

Anyway, we still wanted to paddle to Churchill. We would assess the paddling conditions when we arrived at the bay. For a variety of conditions, we decided that it wasn’t safe, so we paddled to the lodge, which was still boarded up from the winter. After four days, we flagged down two helicopters, which took us to Churchil. The following is from my journal.

“Two hours later, Kathleen and I sauntered to the restaurant. We marvelled at how quickly our situation had changed. At 6:00 p.m. we were stuck in the lodge, seemingly forever. By 9:30 we were strolling casually to the pub for hamburgers and fries.

We sat down and asked the waitress to bring us a beer. Didn’t make any difference what kind of beer. Just bring us a beer. “And we would also like some French fries and a cheeseburger. Lots of gravy on those fries, please.”

“A few minutes later, our rescue helicopter pilots sat down at the next table. “I’m glad you saw us,” I said. “No telling how much longer we would have been at the lodge if you hadn’t seen us.”

“Well, we didn’t see you at all. Unless you’re looking for people on the ground, you almost never seem them. We turned back only because we wanted a closer look at the lodge.”

Dang. That was lucky for us. “You know,” I continued, “We had an EPIRB with us, but we never considered using it, even for a second. Just out of curiosity, if we had set the EPIRB off, would we have been charged? How much would it have been?”

“Well, for almost all rescues, there is no charge. Your situation was different though. You were at a lodge. You weren’t hurt. You weren’t sick. You probably had a month’s supply of food in the pantry. If you had set the EPIRB off, it would have been only because you were tired of being there and wanted to go home. They might not have charged you, but it could have been as much as $20,000.”

“Well, as I said, we never considered using the EPIRB. It would have been too embarrassing. I would have to be pretty much already dead before I would set it off.“ We ordered another beer. Life was again beautiful.

 

[deerfly]

have had this discussion many times on boating and fishing forums over the years, especially when Spot was announced, which many from my side of the argument viewed as an idiot beacon. Same thing with the multi-million dollar circumnavigation attempts that go south invoking international SAR missions thousands miles from land etc. These are not merchant marine or humanitarian activities, they are selfish recreational endeavors, same with canoe tripping, white water rafting, rock climbing, geocaching games etc etc. Either plan and prepare yourself accordingly to deal with inherent risks or make your own arrangements for rescue or pay for govt agencies to come get you or tough crap...

 

[yknpdlr]

I am an active member of a NYS SAR team, belonging to the NYSFederation of SAR teams. The NYSDEC (Forest Rangers) are generally tasked with organizing, funding and carrying out wildlands SAR incident operations. AFAIK, there has not been any serious large movement to charge subjects for SAR rescues in NYS. Since the avent of cell phones in virtually everyone's hands and the overabundance of new cell towers covering 100% even in most wilderness areas, large scale SAR incidents have practically dropped to zero over the most recent 8 years or so.

I've been involved in large scale "campaign" incidents actively lasting a week or more involving dozens to hundreds of both trained team and untrained (off the street civiilian) searchers. But that doesn't happen any more. Weekly SAR incidennt reports show how effective the rangers are in responding to multiple 911 calls each week in the summer and in all seasons. Most commonly responding to the famous "lower leg injury", or sometimes an overdue hiker who simply got confused at a trail junction and will be located quickly. These incidents are typically resolved within a very few hours, if that long, negating the need for calling large numbers of trained volunteers.

The real danger is when the next big event happens, there will be very few highly trained "ground pounders" to effect the mission under ranger guidance. Nothing holds a trained team together long term better than a few good search to keep the blood flowing and maintain the interest. Without the occasional real need, teams are losing members and critical experience fast.

What gets me is those quick turn incidents in which the subjects fail to prepare in the slightest. "But my phone has a flashlight " is the best response when they get stuck out after dark. Of course in short order the phone fails and there is neither light nor cell capability. Failure to ever have glanced at or to have a trail map is another. A compass? What is that ("my cell phone has a compass").

I teach land navigation to wilderness guide licensees, SAR teams law enforcement, EMTs, Fire, and Boy Sccouts. Before I ever say the letters of GPS, my students must demonstrate good proficiency with basic map and compass skills first.

As I was growing up, a trip into the wilderness meant I knew where I was, were I was going, snd what I was doing every step of the way. Getting "confused", "mixed up", whatever you want to call it, was part of the learning process. Whatever happened to sit on a log, grab a sandwich, and take the mental time to figure out what you did wrong to get into a confused land condition. Fix the mistake and move on. At the end of the day I knew I learned far more from making a navigation mistake or two during the day then on those days when everything went perfectly all day long. Making a mistake meant that I would never make that mistake again in the future. I learned how to navigate.

SPOT was required equipment during the Yukon 1000 mile canoe races. Without that system to monitor every racer's location, neither Yukon Territory nor Alaskan officials would have issued the required permits to race officials to allow the race to take place. In my case, my pit crew (wife) could use recieved SPOT data to plot my location and use a computer algorithm I wrote to predict my future arrival time at any future downriver location and the race finish.

 

[alsg]

Unless I am mistaken, when somebody looking at their phone gets in an otherwise avoidable accident on on the freeway, they don't send a bill from fire and rescue that peeled him out of the car and transported him to the hospital. Maybe they should, but they don't. I'm not sure why the wilderness is different.

 

[memaquay]

Unless I am mistaken, when somebody looking at their phone gets in an otherwise avoidable accident on on the freeway, they don't send a bill from fire and rescue that peeled him out of the car and transported him to the hospital. Maybe they should, but they don't. I'm not sure why the wilderness is different.

If someone has an injury, I am in total agreement. The most experienced tripper can have a second of inattention, slip on a rock and fracture a leg. I'm not in favour of spurious calls. I can't remember all the details, but there was the story of the fella who activated the SARs button because some snow fell on his canoe trip, but he was within a mile or two of a road, and could have completed the trip anyway. And then when he went back the next weekend, he did it again.

Many people who have done serious canoe tripping have probably had major equipment failure or some kind of disaster not involving an injury, and probably been able to use their wits to get out. I split a canoe in half on the Steel river once, and was able to patch it together, and with some babying, got it to the next place that I could get out at.

On the other hand, my buddy was on a solo trip in Wabakimi, and was lining his canoe down a rocky set of rapids. He slipped and broke his arm. He studied his maps and walked out to a road and hitched a ride. I wouldn't have been upset if he had called for an evac, it would have been totally justified.

yknpdlr's point about cell phone coverage decreasing serious SAR's events is quite interesting. We don't have that option up here yet, but i suspect in a few years, Satellite phone coverage will be a standard or an option on cell phones, and there will be now place that is unconnected.

 

[lowangle al]

I read a short article in the Copper River Journal about a group that had to be rescued on the Gulkana River. It stated they had to be rescued because they were tired and cold. This was the early 90's so I don't know what was available to call for help back then.

 

[Abenakiregion]

I, too, was surprised about yknpdlr's statistics. It has been the exact opposite in my area. The number of serious incidents are probably up slightly, but the number of calls for non-debilitating injuries has increased dramatically. People inexperienced in outdoor activities are assuming the 911 system works the same in the back country as on a highway and have to be told their rescue may be many hours rather than minutes away. Nothing ties up resources like a call mobilizing the SAR teams only to find the persons became impatient with the wait and self-evacuated as they should have in the first place. I understand the approach that charging for rescue may cause one to delay calling until the situation becomes much more serious, but it seems as though the reluctance to charge, even for gross negligence, may be encouraging the inexperienced to become more reckless and place more calls for increasingly less serious issues..

 

[billconner]

I wish every state would institute programs like Colorado and New Hampshire (I think) where annual dues (premiums?) funds the SAR work.

 

[Robin]

...they don't send a bill from fire and rescue that peeled him out of the car and transported him to the hospital.

In most cases, there is a bill that your insurance covers if the ambulance ride is deemed necessary (which we end up paying for in higer rates or higer taxes). No insurance, you pay.
A helicopter ride from an accident scene can cost up to $15,000, mostly paid for by insurance but if you have deductables or no health care insurance you can be held responsible.
I'm not a lawyer but I play one on the internet.
My SPOT X offers a rescue option for an added fee, I might get it. I think youhave to be 100 miles from home for the rescue to be covered.

 

[yknpdlr]

I can't remember all the details, but there was the story of the fella who activated the SARs button because some snow fell on his canoe trip, but he was within a mile or two of a road, and could have completed the trip anyway. And then when he went back the next weekend, he did it again.

That was Carl Skalak, as YC linked to the story above. I know well and have been to the exact spot where he called for and received helicopter rescue from Army Fort Drum, twice. It is not a long paddle trip over a beaver dam or two from the road where he entered the river, and there is a hunter's walking trail in the nearby woods leading directly out from his location. I understand that he eventually paid a court fine, don't know how much.

 

[Abenakiregion]

My SPOT X offers a rescue option for an added fee, I might get it. I think youhave to be 100 miles from home for the rescue to be covered.

InReach offers a similar service. Seems Mountain Rescue in the French Alps is free in summer, but you pay in winter.
At present it appears the NH Nat'l Guard is planning to station a Blackhawk at the Berlin, NH airport to assist with serious rescues in the north country. They can winch a patient rather than have to land as does the normal medical helicopters. The lack of landing zones complicates rescue in a large percentage of terrain.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Unless I am mistaken, when somebody looking at their phone gets in an otherwise avoidable accident on on the freeway, they don't send a bill from fire and rescue that peeled him out of the car and transported him to the hospital. Maybe they should, but they don't. I'm not sure why the wilderness is different.

Yes they do. And it is expensive. Worked in F and R for 30 years and my kids work in the same now. One in billing.....

 

[Odyssey]

Billing the rescued sounds too much like victim blaming to me, although I often wish Darwin's theory would kick in way more often.
IMO all emergency professionals sign up for the risks but they deserve our respect and help if Darwin won't.
So how do we penalize punish the twerp with a broken paddle and not the paddler with a broken limb?
My wish list:
Fully taxpayer fund all med emergency services making nickle and diming unnecessary.
No gear should ever be evacced, ever, but it should all be extracted by the users' or at their expense. within 1 year of incident.
Provinces and states should have the legislative power to demand and enforce a requirement for 2-way comm systems be used by all adventurers, 1 per group. Failure to do so would result in a fine equal to 1 SAR extraction. InReach would become standard required rental equipment provided by all outfitters etc.
More to follow as my ranting mood develops.

 

[Bothwell Voyageur]

Although charging the frivolous could usefully deter unnecessary rescues it could also deter some necessary ones. We've seen that as ambulance fees in Winnipeg have risen low income families have delayed calling for help which to later complications.