They probably tried and a bunch of Hill Billy Bob's were probably screaming at the back of the room about keeping their taxes lower, so they came up with this arrangment.

Everyone wants to order the lunch buffet but nobody wants to pay for it.
The guy should've paid his fee "I forgot" sounds like a load of bull.

Pay your bills or quit whining.
Like Dlenk says, this situation should never have gotten to this point, those fees should've been included into the taxes - end of story -.

 

My error. Thanks for setting the record straight. I thought, since there was an annual fee involved, it WAS a private corporation like our Rural Metro. I've never been anywhere where a volunteer fire department relied on an "annual fee" for equipment and facilities. That seems rather short-sighted.

To wittom: I'm not saying everything would be better if it were run by the Government. I'm saying that everything has consequences. A consequence of "fee for service" is no fee, no service. In this republic, the majority of the voting public gets to choose who will handle the messy details of day to day living - the rest are stuck with that decision.

To jgger: I will remind you that mandatory emergency health treatment, for everyone, was passed into law in 1986 during the Presidency of Ronald Reagan. Again, a consequence of who we elected. And, while the Democrats controlled the House, Republicans controlled the Senate.

- Jack

 

Perhaps so, my point being on the one hand the Government provides the medical "protection" with no strings attached, on the other hand fire protection requires a "fee" outside of the taxes we pay. Then at the same time the Government feels it is necessary to inject it self into enterprises that should not be under their direct supervision (auto industry, health insurance). How long before they need to sucharge on their newly aquired "duties"?

This is a sticky situation at best. I wonder how his lender and insurance company will end up fighting this one out. The lender would require fire insurance among other things to protect their interest, so if the $75 fee was needed for fire protection, perhaps the insurance company should include it in their policy or fees. Does the non paid fee cancel his fire insurance? Kinda looks like there is a bunch of people standing in a circle pointing their fingers at each other. I don't know the answer, but it will be interesting.

 

Here is what I can't figure.

Generally, insurance companies charge a lower premium if you are situated near a Fire House, Fire hydrant etc...

It would seem that if you are situated out in the sticks with no Fire protection at all, you would get reamed by the insurance company on your premium.

Likewise, if you opted out of a $75 optional fee you would get reamed on your premium much more than the $6.25 per month.

 

It sounds like it was a rural mobile home in Tennessee. It may not have had any mortgage or fire insurance. As evidenced by the fact there was no fire department coverage, things are done differently far out in the country.

FWIW, replacement value of the structure itself was probably minimal.

The article states that at the scene, the owner offered to pay whatever it took to put the fire out. The department was already there to protect the neighbors. IMO, the Fire Dept. could have sent out a negotiator with the team that was dispatched to protect the neighbor's field. Or even have a manager available by phone or radio. Once a deal is negotiated with the owner, unleash the hoses. No bad press, no lost pets, and the FD gets its costs covered. Stick the owner with a big bill and it will be an encouragement for people to pay the fee rather than take a chance and not pay.

 

I built my house about 20 years ago, about a mile outside the city limit. When I built it, the city would offer a binding contract with outside residents for $100. A few years later it went up to $200. But this contract lowered my homeowners insurance by about 50%. Later the city had law suits filed by rural fire department for infringing on their protected areas, and cutting into their funds. So the city just did not renew any contracts.
My homeowners insurance went up by about 50%, plus I now have to pay the annual membership too. I will say though, when I saw our Rural Fire department in action, I was impressed. They had excellent gear such as respirators and other tools. But what kinda T's me off, is most of the gear is bought with grant money from the federal government. But the Firefighters do their job as a civic duty. I do think they get some pay for responding to a fire. But they do donate all of the time for training and anything else.
It's a catch 22 the way our government has it all set up.

 

Firestations and Policestations respond on an as needed basis and are under no legal or moral obligation to respond to your particular call. There can be all manner of extenuating circumstances that prevent a response. Keep that in mind if someone is breaking into your house and you call 911. The hostage situation at the grocery store may be of higher importance.

In this case it appears that failure to pay a $75 fee prevented a response. That seems to be a poor excuse. We have an ambulance fee of about that. If you fail to pay it the ambulance will still come but you are responsible for the charges, which can be astronomical if a MedStar helicopter is needed. Seems to me that a similar protocol should have been employed here. First put out the fire, then bill the moron for an astronomical fee, which he won't pay. Then make his life miserable with collection agencies, but put out the fire. You can't outlaw stupid.

 

This guy and quite a few others are trying to make it seem like it's about the money - $75 subscription fee. It's not about the amount of money, which I would bet doesn't even cover the cost of diesel to and from his property. The fee could've been $5 or $100,000, it's still a fee for services. Just about anywhere else, if you don't pay the fees, you don't get the services.

Also read where police reports are saying this guy's son, later showed up to the firehouse and assaulted the chief. Nice guy, huh.

Around here, there are a bunch of communities outside the city limits and their big draw has always been - No City Taxes! Among other things included in the city taxes are fire/police protection - increasing response times because you're limited to volunteer FD's sounds like a great way to cut costs!

 

Pretty sure there is more to the story than we know. Besides, if this guy "forgot" to pay his $75 yearly fee, I'd be willing to bet had the FD took action he would have turned around and sued them for water damage to his trailer and expect the FD to build him a $200K+ 3500 sq ft. home. All the while his excuse would have been.."Thats why I didn't pay the $75...I didn't want/need their help"

 

We had a pretty big chat about this today in the bull room while eating lunch. First off, since this was a rural moblie home, the chances are the struture was fully involved before the Fire Dept. arrived. Seccond, carbon monoxide most likely killed the pets long before the fire did. EMS and Fire agencies are two completely different things. While EMS can sometimes be funded only by ambulance transport revenue(but are not limited to), Fire depts strictly depend on taxes, levies, grants, and other means. Some departments are paid, some strictly volunteer, some combination. If the person had lived in the city, they would likely have been bound by contract to recieve fire protection. They didn't. Because they live in a rural area, this opens up a new can of worms. It's a sad deal that this happened but it cannot be placed on the fire personel for not acting.

 

If I were the Capt. on the first pump in I would use the first tank of water to make sure everyone was out and extinguish what I could then pack up and leave. No pay, no service...

 

Everyone talks a good game but what if it was your home and you simply "forgot " to pay?????..

 

Thats why you dont forget to pay. I dont know about you, but I have a hard time forgetting something that can cost lives.

 

The report on the news around here said the FD only came when the neighbor called concerned about his property; the neighbor had paid his dues.

I don't feel bad for the guy... If i was in an area such as his it would be on my list of bills I HAVE to pay each month: electric, cable, Fire protection, house payment, car payment, insurance..

If he is like some of the JA's around here in rural mobile homes they burn their trash in a 55gal drum 5 feet from the house with the wind blowing the flames in the direction of the mobile home... Tall grass and weeds dried up and dead all around the property and tons of garbage around the place just waiting to fuel a fire... and then can't figure out why the house caught fire, why it burnt so fast, and why the FD didn't get it put out before it was fully involved..

 

Is your truck insured? Did you pay your health insurance? I am guessing you have. This is no different. I do not buy the "I forgot" excuse. Life is about priorities, the safety of you, your family and property should be at the top. At 20 cents a day for fire coverage there is no excuse not to have it, period. To add a bit more, this guy's son had THE SAME problem with the FD, so its not like this family is unaware of the cost and possible results with neglecting to pay. He gambled and lost, plain and simple.

Exactly! So, not only is he to blame for not having paid the fee, but he actually started this fire as well. He has nobody to blame but himself.