Section 270.50  Review Process

The procedure to reimburse emergency action costs:

a)         The emergency response agency with jurisdiction over the location of the incident requiring emergency action must submit a completed Application for Reimbursement form promulgated by OSFM in Appendix A.

b)         Upon receipt of an Application for Reimbursement, OSFM will begin a preliminary review of the application and documentation within five working days. If deficiencies are found, OSFM will contact the applicant to resolve the problem.

c)         If no deficiencies exist or the emergency response agency does not submit additional information, OSFM will forward the Application for Reimbursement to the Chairman for review.

d)         The Chairman, or his or her designee, shall send a copy of the Application for Reimbursement to the Illinois Fire Advisory Commission (see 20 ILCS 2905/3) members for review.  At the next scheduled meeting, the Fire Advisory Commission shall vote to approve or disapprove the request. A quorum of members must exist. If necessary, the Chairman has discretion to call an emergency meeting of the Fire Advisory Commission to consider the application.  The Fire Advisory Commission will be responsible for:

1)         Reviewing claims made against the Fund and determining reasonable and necessary expenses to be reimbursed to an emergency response agency.

2)         Affirming that the emergency response agency has made a reasonable effort to recover expended costs from responsible parties.

3)         Advising the State Fire Marshal as to those claims against the Fund that merit reimbursement.

e)         The State Fire Marshal shall either accept or reject the Fire Advisory Commission's recommendations as to a claim's eligibility.  The eligibility decision of the State Fire Marshal shall be a final administrative decision reviewable under the Administrative Review Law [735 ILCS 5/Art. III].

f)         If the reimbursement is approved, OSFM will process the reimbursement to the emergency response agency from the Fund.  If a partial reimbursement is approved, OSFM will process the reimbursement of the amount approved to the emergency response agency from the Fund.

(Source:  Amended at 40 Ill. Reg. 12790, effective August 18, 2016)