The Office of the State Fire Marshal has released a statement regarding their HazMat Response Team’s reimbursement process.
The response is specifically concerning the Coffeyville Fire Department’s HazMat response team’s October reimbursement submission.
The release from Jill Bronaugh, Public Information Manager for the Office of the State Fire Marshal, goes over the reimbursement and payment process for those who are on and off duty, and the hourly rates for team members, who are not on duty and are on call-back.
Bronaugh says an error on the submission by Coffeyville Fire was discovered by OSFM accounting personnel. The firefighter who submitted the documentation had mistakenly adjusted the fillable spreadsheet at double-time rates for all of the team members who responded to the incident. That firefighter was not the usual team member who submits HMRT billing, and OSFM believes it was simply an unintentional error. OSFM is not asking that the funds be returned, as it is not the goal to prevent any undue expenses to a municipality for providing a HMRT.
Bronaugh says OSFM has locked the forms and created a more vigorous review process to ensure the correct HMRT reimbursements are processed in the future.
Bronaugh says the OSFM considers the City of Coffeyville and the Coffeyville Fire Department to be integral partners, especially for the HazMat Response Division.
The full text of the response from the OSFM is available here.
