Local fire departments incur costs for responding to accidents and other incidents on the Indiana Toll Road, but currently have no plans to charge the roadway's private operator for services rendered.

"We're a volunteer department, we do this because we want to," said Liberty Township Fire Chief Bill Branham. "We're there to help."

Branham and other area chiefs said there was some talk about charging private toll road operator ITR Concession Co. for services when it first took over operation of the roadway last year.

"But then it was said that it was only leased, not owned by the company," said Hammond Assistant Chief Pat Moore. "It's still owned by the state. That's why it kind of fizzled."

Fire departments in Bristol and Elkhart recently revealed they both tried to bill ITR Concession for responding to incidents on the toll road and both said the bill was returned unpaid.

That situation reflects the changed approach to the road by many communities since it underwent the change to private management.

Whereas before services often were rendered under the banner of intergovernment cooperation, local communities now are asking if they should be extending the same courtesies to a profit-making enterprise.

If fire departments want to charge for accident response, ITR Concession believes the individual responsible for any accident or incident is the party to bill, said company spokesman Matt Pierce. That's what the company does when someone damages ITR property in an accident.

ITR has examined and changed at least one relationship the state-run road had with local governments.

Before ITR Concession took over, the state had contracts with the Elkhart and South Bend fire departments to provide response to hazardous material (hazmat) spills, such as fuel tankers leaking or burst fuel tanks.

South Bend was paid $2,400 per response and $600 for every hour after the first four hours on the job, according to Assistant Chief Rick Switalski. Under the contract, the department responded to incidents as far away as Lake County.

South Bend's contract was not renewed and Elkhart's was canceled at the request of the city, according to Pierce. ITR now relies on individual fire departments along the 157-mile roadway to provide hazardous material responses.

Private companies do the actual cleanup and charge the responsible trucking firm.

Pierce said ITR is satisfied individual fire departments, even in rural areas, have the capability to respond to such incidents. There are no gaps in coverage, Pierce said.

Local fire departments charge individual parties such as truck drivers or companies for hazmat responses on the toll road and other roadways. That is also the case with many hazmat responses to industrial sites.

"That's because it's so expensive," said Moore, of Hammond. "It's above and beyond what we usually do."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.