Firefighters Watch As House Burns Down

[JBeukema]

Just like a Repuglicant to not want to pay for county services.

What ever happened to getting what you pay for? Choice of what, as a home owner, protection you carry?

The problem is the one that happened here. Let's say you choose not to have fire protection and your home burns. That's fine. But then your neighbor, who did pay for fire protection, has to wait and watch his own house catch fire before the flames are put out. That second house never had to be damaged.

Take it a step further. Let's say the first neighbor's home is also not covered. So the fire department sits and waits for another home to catch. And then maybe another. At some point fires become too large to contain without extreme measures. Then what?

It's a big issue in towns like mine, full of 100-year old frame buildings built either as rowhomes or with very little space in between structures. Last year around this time we lost most of a block of the business district to a fire and had several small fires kindle downwind from smoldering debris carried on the breeze. And that was with firefighters able to respond and act immediately.

Which is why it's a public safety issue, not a personal property issue. You can lose a hell of a big chunk of a town to a single fire if it spreads too far before firefighters can get to work.

Perhaps that's why the city makes in mandatory whilst the country can leave it to your own discretion?

 

[Sheldon]

Perhaps that's why the city makes in mandatory whilst the country can leave it to your own discretion?

Yes. The problem with leaving it up to your own discretion in rural areas is that a house burning at full force could spread to surrounding vegetation, which could become a nightmare fast. It just seems like a real shitty idea to let a massive wood structure catch fire around a bunch of other flammable things, and not put it out at the source ASAP.

5 of the 8 municipalities in that county provide their fire emergency service for free to their designated rural area, so I wonder why the other three make it subscription. Maybe this story will kick a change into that system.

 

[Ravi]

Where did the figure of $500 come from?

Because it seems to me that it would cost considerably more than $500 to put out the average house fire.

http://troy.troytn.com/Obion County...tation Presented to the County Commission.pdf

page 4

According to survey information, over 75% of all municipal fire department’s structure calls
are rural. All fire departments in Obion County charge a $500.00 fee per call in rural areas,
but collections are, less than 50% and the fire departments have no way of legally
collecting the charge.

-page 4



So they charge nothing and ask for $500 just like my favorite freeware asks for fifteen bucks.

I think it is a bad policy to charge $75 to answer the phone when they plan on charging you $500 to put out the fire anyway. I wonder if they then negotiate on the spot for each rescued person in the building...after all, it is not the fire departments fault some idiot is trapped in a burning house.

 

[goldcatt]

What ever happened to getting what you pay for? Choice of what, as a home owner, protection you carry?

The problem is the one that happened here. Let's say you choose not to have fire protection and your home burns. That's fine. But then your neighbor, who did pay for fire protection, has to wait and watch his own house catch fire before the flames are put out. That second house never had to be damaged.

Take it a step further. Let's say the first neighbor's home is also not covered. So the fire department sits and waits for another home to catch. And then maybe another. At some point fires become too large to contain without extreme measures. Then what?

It's a big issue in towns like mine, full of 100-year old frame buildings built either as rowhomes or with very little space in between structures. Last year around this time we lost most of a block of the business district to a fire and had several small fires kindle downwind from smoldering debris carried on the breeze. And that was with firefighters able to respond and act immediately.

Which is why it's a public safety issue, not a personal property issue. You can lose a hell of a big chunk of a town to a single fire if it spreads too far before firefighters can get to work.

Perhaps that's why the city makes in mandatory whilst the country can leave it to your own discretion?

Even in the country it's a bad idea. JB. This sounded like a fairly rural area, and the neighbor's house still caught fire. You also have other issues in the country. Farms with their stocks of chemicals, things like fertilizers and pesticides, some depending on the area will have explosives on hand. Fuel tanks. Depending on the location and time of year there can be grass, brush or even forest fires. And of course in any township no matter how rural you have developers buying up farmland to put in denser housing areas on their little quarter or half acre lots. I just don't like the idea that the official stance of the municipality is to allow folks to put their neighbors in jeopardy, shrug and say "Oh well". When it's a public threat rather than a private one, protection should be mandatory.

Remember what happened in the days when all fire protection was private? There's a reason public fire departments were put into place.

 

[Si modo]

http://troy.troytn.com/Obion County...tation Presented to the County Commission.pdf

page 4

According to survey information, over 75% of all municipal fire department’s structure calls
are rural. All fire departments in Obion County charge a $500.00 fee per call in rural areas,
but collections are, less than 50% and the fire departments have no way of legally
collecting the charge.

-page 4



So they charge nothing and ask for $500 just like my favorite freeware asks for fifteen bucks.

I think it is a bad policy to charge $75 to answer the phone when they plan on charging you $500 to put out the fire anyway. I wonder if they then negotiate on the spot for each rescued person in the building...after all, it is not the fire departments fault some idiot is trapped in a burning house.

'Bad policy' to get funds up front for a fire department? And, their collection rate is less than 50% on that $500 fee.

With your plan, they wouldn't even be able to put gas in the trucks and zero fires would be put out in the county.









Yeah, great plan.

 

[Ravi]

The firefighters get paid either way.

 

[goldcatt]

Pssst.....if those fees were paid through taxes they would be lienable and enforceable. They would also come from a broader base, so the fee would likely be reduced with more folks paying in and sharing the cost. Just sayin'.

 

[Si modo]

The firefighters get paid either way.

And, the firefighters are doing more work than they are paid for.

They are overworked and underfunded with your plan.

 

[Ravi]

The firefighters get paid either way.

And, the firefighters are doing more work than they are paid for.

They are overworked and underfunded with your plan.

No...they get paid whether they sit on their asses, hang out at the grocery store, or put out a fire.

True story.

 

[Mr.Fitnah]

I can envision the progressive future " firefighters "going house to house threatening to burn you down if you dont pay the protection tax.

 

[Si modo]

The firefighters get paid either way.

And, the firefighters are doing more work than they are paid for.

They are overworked and underfunded with your plan.

No...they get paid whether they sit on their asses, hang out at the grocery store, or put out a fire.

True story.

Ravi, I'm still undecided about whether you are not too bright or disingenuous. I'll go with the latter.

If they have to go out to the country and are not paid by those in the country to do so, they have more work and more expenses with the same revenues.

Brilliant idea, ravi. Really.

 

[saveliberty]

The firefighters get paid either way.

And, the firefighters are doing more work than they are paid for.

They are overworked and underfunded with your plan.

No...they get paid whether they sit on their asses, hang out at the grocery store, or put out a fire.

True story.

Actually they won't be paid at all if enough peole like the jerk in this story don't pay their fee. What a pity, the town didn't ahve fire protectino, because they didn't pay the firemen. The penalty for not paying has to be more than the $75 for some people to decide to pay. Not having coverage should be a no brainer. Proving this guy didn't have one or at least didn't use it. Also, it is a system that has worked for twenty years. Then along comes, Mr. "Hey Look Everybody I can Cheat the System." Really?

 

[saveliberty]

Pssst.....if those fees were paid through taxes they would be lienable and enforceable. They would also come from a broader base, so the fee would likely be reduced with more folks paying in and sharing the cost. Just sayin'.

Most likely that is how this plan come to be. Unable to get a tax increase for their budget, the board decided to break out a service that they felt people would pay for separately. Ot looks like they were right. It worked for twenty years until this guy.

 

[goldcatt]

Pssst.....if those fees were paid through taxes they would be lienable and enforceable. They would also come from a broader base, so the fee would likely be reduced with more folks paying in and sharing the cost. Just sayin'.

Most likely that is how this plan come to be. Unable to get a tax increase for their budget, the board decided to break out a service that they felt people would pay for separately. Ot looks like they were right. It worked for twenty years until this guy.

So they got lucky for 20 years. And if it were guaranteed to be just this guy, I wouldn't have a problem with it. But the fact that it spread to the neighbor's home, which is when the firefighters put it out, proves my point. If it had been combated immediately chances are very good it would not have spread. Fire isn't a personal property issue. It puts everyone around the property at risk, which makes it a public issue. That's why public fire services were started in the first place.

 

[rightwinger]

They should install credit card readers on the sides of the truck. The truck pulls up, you swipe your card and then the firemen go into action.

It can work with police also

 

[saveliberty]

http://troy.troytn.com/Obion County...tation Presented to the County Commission.pdf

page 4

According to survey information, over 75% of all municipal fire department’s structure calls
are rural. All fire departments in Obion County charge a $500.00 fee per call in rural areas,
but collections are, less than 50% and the fire departments have no way of legally
collecting the charge.

-page 4



So they charge nothing and ask for $500 just like my favorite freeware asks for fifteen bucks.

I think it is a bad policy to charge $75 to answer the phone when they plan on charging you $500 to put out the fire anyway. I wonder if they then negotiate on the spot for each rescued person in the building...after all, it is not the fire departments fault some idiot is trapped in a burning house.

Are you aware of why the amount is $500 for a fire run? It is pretty standard across the entire US. That should be a clue. I'll help you a bit more by suggesting you should look at the standard deductable on a home owner's policy regarding a fire. The run is billed to the insurance company. Surprise! A fire run costs more than $500.

 

[Douger]

just like a demonRat. won't pay for a service, wants the service, expects it for free, and expects conservatives to pay for their service. Thanks for posting basementdweller. It's typical of demonRat behavior.

You're exactly what is wrong with America. If you woulda read the fucking article, you would see he offered to pay if they would put the fire out.. But they basically said tough luck, and it wasn't until it spread to the neighbours (who has the "coverage") that they put it out.
What happened to helping people, and not worrying about cost or profit? Imagine if this had been the mayor of this town.. Gu-ran-tee they woulda put that fire out, regardless if he'd have payed the fee.

That's because firefighters, like cops and military men , are brainwashed assholes.They don't have the ability to think. They're robots with a pulse.
He woulda let it burn if it was his grannys house and she was inside.
Just following orders, sir.
It's the rules, sir.
It's my job,sir.

Too bad the owner didn't pull out an AK and get them to stop stealing oxygen.

 

[Ravi]

And, the firefighters are doing more work than they are paid for.[/b]

They are overworked and underfunded with your plan.

No...they get paid whether they sit on their asses, hang out at the grocery store, or put out a fire.

True story.

Ravi, I'm still undecided about whether you are not too bright or disingenuous. I'll go with the latter.

If they have to go out to the country and are not paid by those in the country to do so, they have more work and more expenses with the same revenues.

Brilliant idea, ravi. Really.

Yeah, I can't decide if you are stupid or a liar, either.

It is bad enough that the firefighters wouldn't respond to the call. It is worse that they went to the neighbor's house, put out a grass fire and left. They were already there, any additional costs would have been for water.

This is a city that takes money from the county and the state and yet refuses to give back to the county and state. A typical Libertarian mindset. Give me mine and fuck you.

I prefer different heroes, like the thousands of firefighters and police officers that went out of their jurisdiction to do what they and only they knew how to do without a second thought.

 

[saveliberty]

Step back and look at this concept for a minute.

If ALL government services were like this, you could eliminate much of a politican's power. You simply set up the cost of each service and an appropriate penalty for not purchasing the service. I want to sink my own water well instead of city water, ok. I have a 4x4 so I don't want the roads plowed. I don't support war, so I don't pay that tax. It would quickly prioritize what the public wants and their level of financial participation.

 

[Ravi]

And, the firefighters are doing more work than they are paid for.[/b]

They are overworked and underfunded with your plan.

No...they get paid whether they sit on their asses, hang out at the grocery store, or put out a fire.

True story.

Actually they won't be paid at all if enough peole like the jerk in this story don't pay their fee. What a pity, the town didn't ahve fire protectino, because they didn't pay the firemen. The penalty for not paying has to be more than the $75 for some people to decide to pay. Not having coverage should be a no brainer. Proving this guy didn't have one or at least didn't use it. Also, it is a system that has worked for twenty years. Then along comes, Mr. "Hey Look Everybody I can Cheat the System." Really?

And yet the city has no problem taking handouts from the county.