In an attempt to make the public realise how much rescue services cost, the Catalan Regional Department for Safety & Fire Prevention and Extinction has decided to make a charge for its mountain rescue services whenever the rescued party has been negligent.

According to a spokesperson for the regional Interior Ministry, the fire service will charge whenever people are rescued from places marked as dangerous, when the rescued people are not carrying the appropriate equipment for the activity they are pursuing and when they call the fire service without just cause.

The cost of the rescue will be calculated according to existing prices, with an hour of a fire officer's time coming in at 30€ and 39€ per hour for every vehicle involved in the rescue.  In addition, if an airlift is required, it will charged at 2,271.50€ per hour.
 
Everyone who is rescued by the emergency services will receive a pro-forma invoice, advising them of the cost of their rescue, but they will only be charged in the above three cases.

The Generalitat in Catalunya has spent the past year trying to make people more aware of the dangers that exist in the mountains, which is where most rescues take place, and trying to encourage them to be better prepared for their activities.

This year, between January 1st and September 15th, the Generalitat's fire officers have had to carry out 365 mountain rescue operations.

The spokesperson made it clear that all rescue operations would be initiated with the same speed and in the same way, without waiting to decide if there is going to be a charge at the end of it or not.

The Generalitat took the opportunity to remind people that before setting out on a mountain excursion it is imperative to find out about the weather forecast, to carry all the appropriate equipment, to have a proper plan in place and to know how long it is going to take, to always go in the company of at least one other person and to let someone else know what you are planning to do and where.