Posted 4/24/2009 05:45:00 PM by Douglas

On a basic level, I don't have too much sympathy with people that ignore warnings of looming danger, but I think this is a bigger question of what we pay for, how we pay for it, and the use of emergency services. So, does this mean the Coast Guard is just going to sit on their ass, drinking coffee during the next storm because, hey, they told you to leave? What if you can't pay?

People who have to be rescued by emergency workers after ignoring mandatory evacuation orders in the face of an oncoming hurricane will have to foot the bill for the rescue under a bill passed Friday by the Texas Senate.

More than 20,000 people stayed on Galveston Island last year despite a mandatory evacuation order as Hurricane Ike approached the Texas coast. Allison Castle, spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Pery, said there were 3,540 rescues in the region by state and local authorities, and the U.S. Coast Guard.

“They have that right to remain if they choose to,” said bill author Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas. “But they stay at their own peril, and they stay with the possibility that if recovery is necessary to preserve their lives, they’d pay the related cost.

"And that’s potentially a lot of money.”

The cost of a helicopter rescue is about $4,400 an hour.

Ike wasn't cheap, but were the rescues the long pole in the tent? Also, We know the ambulance isn't free, but is the fire truck? If you house burns down, does your municipal fire department send you a bill for their time, equipment and water? Why the hell not? You knew you weren't supposed to plug 14 things into that outlet by that box of oily rags. You're stupid, pay your stupid tax to the state.

I find it incredibly ironic that a representative from Dallas is advocating the Coast Guard institute a credit check to those in peril. As a society, we're either going to save people, or we're just going to let people die in the streets. Let's see what The Honorable John Carona would think about Hurricane "it's just a cat-2" Ike hit HIS home before he decides that rescue is unwarranted.