Paulie
Diamond Member
- May 19, 2007
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The very concept of pay as you go fire protection is laughable
It is laughable. And the genius who put the policy in place and the rest of the geniuses who left it there for 20 years should all be run out of town on a rail. But the fact remains that there was no legal obligation for the firefighters to put out that fire until and unless it spread to a structure whose owner paid the fee - no matter how many houses or businesses went up in flames in between. Dumb, dumb, dumb....but it wasn't their decision.
I'm in a rural area where these types of services usually cover more than one municipality. Firefighters are all volunteer, the department is funded by a municipal 911 payroll tax, County tax and voluntary donations. The municipal ambulance and paramedic service has annual membership fees you can pay voluntarily, but they'll still show up if you don't. You just get billed full price if you aren't a member. Municipalities that can't afford their own police departments rely on State Troopers to respond to calls and pay a fee to the State for coverage, again out of taxes. Nobody goes without coverage, period. It's a public safety issue. That these morons making policy fail to grasp the public safety aspect of making emergency services voluntary is beyond me.
These pay as you go towns ignore the basic reason for having a fire department....to save lives
What is their response if someone is inside the burning house? Too bad for you?
I guarantee you that no department is going to watch someone burn to death inside the house.
Regardless of "policy", lawsuits would be monumental, not to mention public relations backlashes.