Parke County adopts updated fee schedule for volunteer fire department

The Parke County Board of Commissioners voted to adopt Ordinance 2026-04, updating the fee schedule volunteer fire departments may submit after responses.

Chair opened the discussion, saying the ordinance updates numbers that “have not changed” since a 1994 ordinance and reflects recommendations from the state fire marshal’s office. The ordinance as read allows a $500 fee per vehicle for initial response by fire engine, truck apparatus, hazmat or rescue units, $200 for command/control vehicles, and on-scene assistance billed by the hour (the transcript listed an on-scene per-unit hourly figure of $400 and $200 for command vehicles). Expendable materials are to be billed at actual replacement cost.

The chair framed the change as an update to match state guidance and said the board had reached a consensus at the prior meeting to move forward. After a motion to adopt, commissioners voice-voted in favor; the chair noted the fees “don’t mean they’ll get those fees” automatically but that departments may submit them and insurers sometimes pay.

Commissioners said the ordinance will be published in the county’s official minutes and will become effective after the required 30-day publication period.

Why it matters: county volunteer fire squads can use the revised schedule to bill for response costs, which may help recoup expenses after storms or other incidents; the update replaces a fee schedule that the chair said had been in place for roughly three decades.

The board did not record a roll-call tally in the meeting transcript; the outcome as read aloud was approval of Ordinance 2026-04. The county clerk will handle publication and post-adoption procedures.