A Surprise, Ariz., man received a surprising $19,825 bill from a nearby fire department after his home burned down.

Justin Purcell wasn't home when his house caught fire in August, but returned to see fire crews extinguishing hot spots, Fox 10 reported.

Two weeks later, Purcell received an itemized bill because, he has now learned, his area doesn't have fire coverage.

The hefty bill from the Rural Metro Fire Department charged Purcell $1,500 per truck and $150 an hour for each firefighter, Purcell told the TV station. The bill was for fire services from Surprise and Rural Metro.

Area residents pay a fire district assistance tax, which supports volunteer fire departments but not fire services, the station reported.

Purcell's neighbours said they didn't know they weren't paying for fire services.

"Coincidentally, we all received a bill from Rural Metro fire informing us we have no fire coverage in our area, so they highly suggested we finally begin paying some fire coverage that we didn't currently have," neighbour Kelly Miller told the station.

Rural Metro said its $500 fire subscription service wasn't marketed there because its closest station is 32 km away.

Purcell said he would've paid the subscription, had he known he wasn't covered. Now, he has to come up with nearly $20,000 not included in his home insurance.

"When you do a service for someone, you usually tell them how much it's going to cost before you do anything," he said.

Rural Metro said it doesn't give people the option of letting their home burn down.