[Phantom Lord]

I have heard the libertarian party wanting to eliminate a lot of functions the government performs, and I have yet to find one to disagree with. But I have never heard the party take the position that they want to eliminate fire departments, presumably for private, for hire, or subscription based fire fighting forces.

Has the LP really taken such a position?

[Tench_Coxe]

Not that I know of.

[upchuck]

This stuff about eliminating fire departments and schools is just a bunch of FUD from the RATS for the sheeple. The RATS are scared to death the free-staters may make some changes.

[neverdem]

They may be thinking of going to all volunteer fire departments. I believe New Hampshire is the most conservative state in New England. IIRC, the state motto is "Live Free or Die". Unfortunately, it is bordered by governments with socialist proclivities, i.e. Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts and Canada.

[archy]

But I have never heard the party take the position that they want to eliminate fire departments, presumably for private, for hire, or subscription based fire fighting forces.

Has the LP really taken such a position?

I haven't heard of anything along those lines, either from NH LP folks or anyone from the FSP. Not that it's necessarily a lousy idea, just that there are other projects with a lot higher priority; fire departments tend to be one of the more effictive and efficiently-run governmental functions around- in some places, NH being one of them.

But I grew up as a refinery town brat to parents working in the oil industry in the processing side rather than the more usually noted production and drilling end of that industry. It was a lot like being an Army brat, except our hometowns smelled a lot worse.

Another difference was that few of the kids I grew up with wanted to be firefighters when we grew up; it was a private company job rather than a local governmental one around us, and had the life expectancy similar to that of a Kamakazi pilot; a LOT of the guys on our refinery F.D. sported REALLY bad burn scars, some facial.

But they caught the little ones before they became big ones, for the most part, helped train the local governmental F.D.s in their procedures, and usually had mutual assistance pacts with those local departments. Likewise, private airport fire departments generally take care of their own specialty effectively, while offering their assistance and specialized equipment to nearby departments as needed and as available. I'd expect a *privitized* FD to work along similar lines, similar to private security guards and governmental law enforcement.

-archy-/-