Ontario man disputes $5,400 bill for being rescued while ice fishing
OSHAWA, Ont. - A southern Ontario man says he will fight the $5,400 bill he got from a fire department for rescuing him after he went through the ice while fishing.
Neil Robbescheuten, 62, was ice fishing on Lake Scugog earlier this month when a dense fog rolled in and he became disoriented trying to find his way back to the shore.
The Oshawa man says he went through the ice in a marshy area near some bullrushes so he was able to pull himself out onto a tree stump while he called 911 and three firetrucks responded to rescue him.
He later received the invoice of $5,392.78 for the rescue and says he plans to fight it because he worries it will make people think twice about calling emergency services when they're in trouble.
Scugog Fire Chief Richard Miller says while this is the first such invoice there, the township north of Oshawa has had the ability to issue them for years.
Miller says the temperature was warm and rainy that weekend and the local conservation authorities had issued warnings urging people to stay away from bodies of water.
