AMHERST - Although a rescue at the Notch last week strained resources of the Amherst Fire Department, its chief says he is not inclined to seek payments in such cases from those his crews help.

"These things are few and far between," said Chief Walter "Tim" Nelson.

Massachusetts, he said, doesn't have mechanisms that can force someone to pay such a fine if it were imposed. "It's not so much that we can't bill someone, it's how can we get someone to pay?" Nelson said.

In this case, there is also a question of whether the victim was negligent. This was more evident two years ago when a woman was rescued after being trapped in a cave in Leverett that she had been stuck in once before.

Town Manager John Musante said issuing financial penalties is "not something I'm actively pursuing at all," calling it a slippery slope. He asked, "If implementing a fee for service component, does that have the unintended disincentive for people to call for help when they most need it?"

On Feb. 15, it took more than four hours and 35 firefighters to rescue a 22-year-old South Hadley man who fell 25 feet off a cliff while hiking in the area of the Notch.

Amherst's fire department, which received assistance from South Hadley, managed to reach and rescue Scott Merrick, who suffered bruises, bumps and scratches but no broken bones after he fell 25 feet from Bare Mountain.

"If it's a difference between it costing us and us saving him, I'll eat that cost any day," Nelson said. "You can't put a price on someone's life."

Amherst Firefighter David Dion said about 35 firefighters, including members of the department's technical rescue team, responded at 11:30 p.m. and worked until 3:30 a.m. getting to Merrick, bringing him out on a stretcher and transporting him by ambulance to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, where he was treated for minor injuries.

Nelson said Merrick was in a dispute with his girlfriend before heading to the area.

"He went up on the hill to be alone," Nelson said. "She knew he would hike up there and she tried to get him. He just turned - and he turned the wrong way."

Although there are no formal opening and closing hours, people are discouraged from hiking when it is dark. "There is no need to be up there at that time of night," Nelson said.

While high rescues pose dangers for all personnel, Police Chief Scott Livingstone said there are even more problems doing them in the dark. "Night increases the chance of someone being hurt," Livingstone said.