Debra Murray didn't think twice when she ran into a burning house in Barrack Heights to save a 92-year-old man after a gas bottle exploded.
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But she didn't expect to be slugged with a $438 ambulance bill for her bravery a couple of weeks later.
The Barrack Heights woman was treated at the scene by paramedics for smoke inhalation but she was shocked to find the invoice in the mail on Friday.
However, after media inquiries, Ambulance NSW reassessed and waived the payment because it recognised Ms Murray's actions as a Good Samaritan.
"I was shocked to be charged $438 because the ambulance only came 13 kilometres and I only had a little bit of oxygen to help clear the smoke from my lungs," she said.
"It is outrageous.
"I have never been in a situation where I needed an ambulance so it didn't cross my mind that I would be charged.
"The elderly man's family member called me to say she was willing to pay the bill but I said I could pay it because I have private health insurance."
Ms Murray said she was thinking about disputing the bill, before it got waived, because she didn't believe she should have to pay it when she helped save someone's life.
Ms Murray was leaving work at nearby Warilla High School, when she smelled smoke and pulled up outside the house, with her son Jett in tow.
She said she saw the front door was open and immediately went inside, while Jett called Triple Zero.
"It was quite thick smoke, so I went in there and I was yelling out 'is anybody home, is anybody home' and I could hear noise," she told the Mercury at the time.
"One of the doors was shut but the smoke was getting too thick by then and I heard the elderly man so I was able to get him out onto the balcony.
"I ran next door to see if there was anybody home ... because I wasn't sure how far it [the fire] was going to go."
Ms Murray wants other people to know about ambulance charges and exemptions.
NSW Ambulance charge for the services provided by paramedics which include assessment on scene and/or transport.
Residents will be charged for the service provided to them regardless of who called Triple Zero.
There is a call out fee of $382 for a road, fixed wing aircraft or helicopter emergency plus an additional charge of $3.44 per kilometre.
The per kilometre fee is charged for the ambulance to travel from the station to the patient's location, the destination the patient disembarks if transported and back to the base ambulance station.
Pensioners, health care or Commonwealth seniors concession card holders, veterans and individuals who hold basic private health insurance or 'ambulance only' cover are exempt from ambulance fees in NSW.
Ambulance services will also be provided at no cost to patients if they are covered by a school, a worker's compensation claim and after a sexual, domestic or child assault.