Insurers say new fire fee covered

The insurance industry has said the controversial new €500 call-out charge from Dublin Fire Brigade will be covered by household insurance policies.

The charge came into force for the first time yesterday. It will apply to all house fires, chimney fires and false alarms and is only for the first hour. Every additional hour will cost €450 per fire tender.

There will also be a €610 charge for a call-out to a road traffic incident with an additional €485 for each additional hour.

Irish Insurance Federation non-life manager Michael Horan said the charge amounted to double taxation.