there is a lot of tricky laws, or lack of law that makes this situation sticky at best. The short of it is one cannot retroactively charge for a service provided voluntarily, unless there are laws that specifically allow charging for specific services under certain circumstances.
For example -
A hiker gets rescued because something unexpected occurred, putting his or her life in danger. Gratis.
A hiker gets rescued because they behaved irresponsibly and put him/herself in danger. Hiker foots the bill.
Laws like the example above exist in several states, so there is precedent to formulate a law where residents outside of city limits who do not buy fire coverage from the neighboring town will still be served in case of fire, but the uncovered citizen will be responsible for the entire cost of the operation, and the cost of the service may be recouped through liens or property forfeiture if necessary. They could also allow a citizen in the unincorporated community to opt out in writing, which would disallow any service beyond lifesaving measures.
But until that happens, the service would be considered voluntary, and the volunteers would be unable to bill for any service rendered retroactively.
Around here, we expect you to take precautions in order to take care of yourself when you take a risk. If we have to come look for ya, expect a bill!
