A woman charges €211 for the service of the firefighters who prevented her suicide on Spain’s Costa Blanca

ALICANTE City Council has waived a tax of €211 that weighed on a young woman who was saved by firefighters after threatening to take her life.

The woman took to social media on Monday to state that she had received a bill from Alicante’s finance department claiming €211 for ‘rescue of person’, after a friend of hers called the emergency services.

The breakdown of the invoice covered the expenses of a corporal, eight firemen, two pumps and two ladder cars.

After she was saved, she told rescuers about her financial situation and was told it “didn’t matter” regarding any call payments.

The woman said the bill added to her suffering, but she was comforted by many messages of support after she went public with the story, including backing from fire departments.

In a matter of hours, the Alicante City Council contacted her to tell her that the charge had been rescinded and that they would modify the corresponding municipal ordinance so that something like this would not happen again.

“They say that this case sets a precedent and I hope they comply,” he said.

The council confirmed that the invoice had been thrown out because the call from the fire service involved “saving a life”, but stated on social media that “not all cases are the same”.

The spokesman for Unides Podemos in the Alicante City Council, Xavier López, has indicated that they propose a “quick” reform of the ordinance to “avoid cruel actions with vulnerable people.”

He has called for better coordination between the authority’s finance and social action departments to avoid a repeat of what happened.