Posted on 12/06/2011 4:33:24 PM PST by Free ThinkerNY
A Tennessee couple helplessly watched their home burn to the ground, along with all of their possessions, because they did not pay a $75 annual fee to the local fire department.
Vicky Bell told the NBC affiliate WPSD-TV that she called 911 when her mobile home in Obion County caught fire. Firefighters arrived on the scene but as the fire raged, they simply stood by and did nothing. "In an emergency, the first thing you think of, 'Call 9-1-1," homeowner Bell said.
However, Bell and her husband were forced to walk into the burning home in an attempt to retrieve their own belongings. "You could look out my mom's trailer and see the trucks sitting at a distance," Bell said. "We just wished we could've gotten more out."
South Fulton Mayor David Crocker defended the fire department, saying that if firefighters responded to non-subscribers, no one would have an incentive to pay the fee.
Residents in the city of South Fulton receive the service automatically, but it is not extended to those living in the greater county-wide area.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
If you pay taxes then your fire dept. should put out your fire.
Doesn’t matter how much you pay...the fact is you pay them and the fire dept. is included.....or should be.
Wow! It rough for those folks, but this is in the same County and there was that previous incident.
That, too. That fire department doesn’t operate without any tax money from those people. They drove over the roads those people paid taxes for. They used all kinds of public funds to do their thing, yet, they had the morals of thugs to watch that happen. This isn’t the first story from that part of the planet that did that. I would laugh my ass off if the house was for the only doctor in the area and he returned the favor.
Wow! It rough for those folks, but this is in the same County and there was that previous incident.
Why would they pay after the FD put the fire out if they didn’t want to pay before there was a fire?
This is one of those situations where it’s hard to justify not simply requiring that the fee be paid as part of the property taxes. But I guess that’s the law.
Oh, sure. Remember, no pay, no service. Better to make an example of them. If someone dies, it's even a stronger message.
I just can not imagine watching a home burn and not doing anything to save it.
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What if you were to be fired if you acted? Or lose your accreditation? What if your fire department would lose its liability insurance if you acted?
The idea that a group of people would call themselves “firefighters” and then refuse to put out a house fire just doesn’t sit well with me. I mean, not a one of them said, “we can’t just sit here and watch a house burn down”?
And that's the point I was making. Since this occurred last September nearby, that should have made it more than abundantly clear that the fire department had a policy that was enforced without compromise. It was well publicized and I can't comprehend how anyone wouldn't have taken away a lesson from the prior incident.
That's right, you no pay, we all stand by in our fire trucks, and watch your home and all your possessions burn to the ground...
It's the American way...
It's what keeps us united, Americans watching out for each others...But no money? Screw you all!
Merry Christmas everyone in Tennessee!
Which would have been challenged in court as extortion.
It's an extra twenty bucks if they have to carry someone. Cash only up front please.
“Why would they pay after the FD put the fire out if they didn’t want to pay before there was a fire?”
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As in my previous post...They would pay as soon as a lien
is put on their property.
The lien would cover the period that they occupied the house.
Fire protection should be part of your property taxes.
If rented, it should be part of your rental.
I am generally libertarian in my philosophy, but this is one instance where compulsory taxation makes more sense. But if the County is going to have this stupid system, they have to enforce it, or else no one will pay, which would be the worst of both worlds.
Merry Christmas America!
Except if you let some one die when you could have saved them you leave yourself and your department open for wrongful death lawsuits.
When I see this type of story I can only wonder just how screwed up our govenrments are to allow this to happen.
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Not about government at all. In fact - quite the opposite. We have CITIZENS deciding that NO. They don’t want government interference (fire department) being involved in their lives. This is a Libertarian wet dream.
These people have decided that they will handle fire protection on a private level basis.
They knew going in that they did not have big gubmint protecting their home. They knew they only need pay $75.00 to get fire protection. But they were stupid.
So. Maybe they need the gubmint to intervene in their stupid lives?
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