you don't know, maybe they tried that and it was voted down?

Yes that makes the most sense though.

 

So really what you are saying is that "private enterprise" and the "free market" leave people up a creek? We would be better off if everything were a
government agency, which would have the responsibility to respond to each and every societal inequality because we support it with our taxes?

From each according to his ability, to each according to his need, right?

 

No. Laissez-faire simply lets the people decide for themselves if they want to be up a creek without a paddle.

 

I can't believe all of the SOCIALISTS/COMMUNISTS here that think the fire department is wrong. The fire departments and police should be privatized.

I don't want to pay for the firemen or police or anything else to protect anyone. If my house catches fire, I have my trusty garden hose. If someone attacks me, I have my Smith and Wesson.

Pull yourself up by the bootstraps and quit whining!!!

 

the person refused to pay the fee for the fire service. he knew the rules. lost his house. dont pay for your truck... they take it back. dont pay your power bill, they turn it off. what else is there to say?

 

Ok let me get this straight. If you don't pay the fee then no fire protection, But illegals can walk into any emergency room in the country and get treatment for things as small as a common cold-without paying anything (taxes or the bill). Something is jacked up here!

Government should provide things like fire and police protection. But they are hell bent on being in the car business or health care business. Kind of bas-akwards isn't it?

Also I thought I heard that it was the Mayor of the town with the fire dept. that put the kabosh on the F.D. putting out fires for non fee payers. Seems kinda cruel to me that the F.D. would respond to the scene and watch the fire burn, I wonder how/when they found out this guy had not paid?

 

Your wimpy garden hose on a structure fire is like me pissing, on a bonfire, No Offense. We "all" pay taxes, and those taxes go to military, EMS, Fire, Police, Schools. If you don't pay those mandatory taxes, you run the risk of suffering the consequences. It is unfourtunate that it comes to someone loosing their house. If it was our department we would have fought the fire regardless, because we have a duty to act, and we don't take tabs on who pays their taxes and who doesn't. I have however heard of similar cases nearby. Simply put, If you don't want to pay for the above mentioned ententes, don't complain when these people don't show up to save you in your emergant time of need.

whew, done with my soap box speech.

 

Haha just saw this post, reminded me of a sign I saw at a local car lot recently.

"Think no one cares about you, try missing a couple of car payments"

 

Exactly my point. I don't want to pay any more taxes for anything. No military, no fire dept, police, roads, etc.

I have a gun, hose and a 4x4 so I am all set!

 

Yes, well this isn't a case of who is and who isn't paying taxes. I'm sure the guys whos house burned paid his taxes. In the town that he lives there is no fire department. I don't know why the people of that town wouldn't elect to have it's own fire department but they don't.

So if your department got half of it's calls from the next town over, a town that didn't pay for your time or use of your equipment, you'd respond to all of the calls? If you charged a fee, then maybe you could afford to provide that service to the neighboring town, without causing undue strain on your own cities tax payers.

People aren't paying attention to the details here, which is what the liberal media is banking on. All people are seeing is a guy whos house burnt and a fire department that didn't put out a fire. What people are advocating here, by saying that a fire department should put out any and all fires they are called to, is that there should be central planning. You want the largest government to take our tax dollars and be the banker for all of the states, counties, cities and towns. You are saying that you are ok allowing the largest government to make all of our local decisions for us.

If this story makes you think, you might want to be a little more involved in your county, city or town governments to make sure that you are protected. If you ceede all of your, all or our power to the largest government, we are all slaves to it.

Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it.

 

There are other aspects involved as far as the volunteer fire department goes. If they were to have fought the fire and lost or damaged equipment, their insurance would not have covered that equipment. But if there was a person trapped in the house, they would have been obligated to rescue that person.
While they rural fire fighters do receive federal grant money, they do have to insure themselves. If a volunteer had lost their life in that house, their insurance would not have paid their family. It sucks, but that is today's world. Frivolous law suits have ruined this country.

I never paid my rural association due, until I saw them in action. A country neighbors house caught on fire due to wiring in the attic, and our rural association responded. It was when I saw how well trained they were, that I started respecting them and started paying my dues. I had no idea before that day how dedicated these guys are.

There have been examples in allot of rural areas like the one in this article, Soon after each one the rural associations started getting the dues they needed , so they then could better their departments. They are a very dedicated group of people, and deserve credit for what they do.

 

Good Lord, about every message board I post on has a thread about this, only a matter of time until it showed up here.

It is a pretty hot topic and stirring up some serious emotion.

As a career fireman former volunteer and current homeowner, I think I can see all sides here.

First, to the bonehead remarks of beating up firemen (which happened in this case) or burning the firehouse down. Do you REALLY think this was pleasing to the FF's? Do you think it was their decision to let this house burn? No, it was that of the governments of the 2 localities involved, you wanna make your point, make it to them.

When I was a volunteer we relied on donations from homeowners and the locality and fund raisers to pay the bills.

As a career fireman I get paid through the city's taxes.

Either department responded when called upon no matter what the circumstances.

Someone had mentioned private enterprise. The responding company that "failed" to do their job was not a private company but a volunteer department from a neighboring jurisdiction that will respond out of their area if the fee is paid due to that area not having a department. Rural Metro is a private enterprise and is contracted out by cities.

Having said that, this is a tragic situation. One that the homeowner and the firefighters should not have been put in. The fee for service is not the best idea, but it is in place here and has been for sometime, thats the way it is. I feel the firefighters were correct in not putting the fire out until it threatened a neighboring property that had paid the fee.

Look at it this way, if I dont pay car insurance and wreck my truck, I dont expect to pay afterwards and get my truck paid for. Right?

Its tragic that pets were lost. I also assume due to the remote location and the structure being a mobile home that all was lost before FF's arrived anyways, its the nature if living in the woods.

A tragic situation for all involved highlighting the need for a re-structuring of local government.

 

President Obama would call this a teachable moment.

 

I would have told them "The check is in the mail".

 

The facts of the story are these:

A family chose to live in an area without fire department coverage.
The family chose not to pay a fee to obtain fire coverage, increasing their risk.
The fire department did not put out the fire (but probably showed up to make sure the fire did not spread to properties where the owner had paid the $75 fee)

The spin on the story to further political agendas is what is alarming to me.

The media and the spinners should be ashamed for using one atypical local event to stoke fears right before an election.