What a great idea, no more standing out the front wondering if anyone is actually coming or not !!
What a great sense of initiative from the Mt Barker crew.
I would think the reason for not being able to give a fixed price is that the Mt Barker one is the first one in the system. But still $65 is only $780 for the year, not a major expense really.
Regarding the internet, yes it might not work for everyone, but I can see it being a major advantage for a lot of brigades, and the busier they are the more cost effective, if you only did say a dozen calls a year you probably wouldn't bother as it would be costing you $65 a call!