Posted on 02/16/2006 3:52:53 PM PST by LouAvul
Edited on 02/16/2006 6:43:01 PM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
MONETT, Mo. (AP) - Rural firefighters stood by and watched a fire destroy a garage and a vehicle because the property owner had not paid membership dues.
Bibaldo Rueda - who was injured battling the flames Monday - offered to pay the dues as the fire blazed away, but the Monett Rural Fire Department does not have a policy for on-the-spot billing, Sheriff's Detective Robert Evenson said.
(Excerpt) Read more at modbee.com ...
So much for the title "First Responder".
Guess you should have paid that $20!!
I know I am harassing you and adamant about this but is $20 too much to protect your house when these people are losing paid time at their jobs to help you! Of course, no one in the country pays what you paid unless there's a whole lot of land. It's a whole different culture.
Perhaps, but what would be his excuse if he learned after the fact that he moved in next to a state highway project? "Wa'ah, nobody told me, it's not my fault!" God, I'm sick of whining babies, that's all I seem to hear about these days. Where are the men, where are the flippin' grown-ups?
When a home burns down or has the cars up on blocks on the lawn, it brings down the rest of the neighborhood value which then drives away business and other methods of making that neighborhood money and jobs. It is a reverse trickle down issue IMO.
I believe you are missing sgtbono2002's point........$450,000 is what his fire company, a volunteer company, just paid for a piece of equipment.
While I fully understand the analogies being made to insurance, I am still appalled that a fire department, of any kind, would stand around and allow someone's property burn if there was something they could do about it.
As I said, not the system I would pick, but let's consider the following.
1. Citizens of community won't finance a fire department.
2. Some citizens want a department, so they raise money by selling memberships. Not donations, but memberships. The point is that it is insurance. This is the selling point. Otherwise you can't raise the needed funds.
3. Some non-member has a fire. If you respond, you will lose your membership base that will refuse to pay to carry the free-loaders.
So what do you do? Perhaps they could bill out at 40 times the membership dues?
As I said, I don't like systems like this, because it has bad decisions designed into the structure, but I bet the membership rate goes up.
If they did it for this guy, they would have to do it for everybody. No one would pay their dues and the fire service would cease to exist.
They should/could have a provision to bill upon arrival, but it better be about 5 times the actual cost of service. We'll put it out, sign here for us to put a lein on your property for $5,000.00. Payment is expected with this years property tax bill.
Maybe he was pushing his luck like some people in the Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita disaster areas. For those who were drug heads, irresponsible and had no insurance; FEMA came through royally. Responsible, tax-paying folks who'd been paying home owners insurance rates for years did not fare nearly as well.
LET ME GO ON RECORD SAYING, I don't feel sorry for this free-loading jerk.
Would it not be better to have a members coverage and a non members fee?. I agree that everyone should support their volunteer fire department and if this guy was charged for full service, I wouldn't have a problem with that. Neighbors just should not watch their neighbor's property burn up though.
The man who refused to pay the protection racket is probably a cheap bastid, but the Fire Chief who would watch this mans property destroyed is no better.
BS. If they had extenguished the fire, how many others would decide they didn't need to pay the next time the dues we're due?
I wonder if any of the nozzleheads drum up business by freelancing the initiation of fires.
Yeah, hard to believe. Hose fondlers committing arson. It happens. Too frequently.
Like I said, it's a whole different culture California Guy. He may not have had a neighbor for a mile, or he could have had one within 20'. In my small town, there are no good or bad neighborhoods, one nice house, one not nice. It's a different culture than you are used to full of personal responsibility and treating your neighbor as yourself whether their house is nice or if they are just good and decent poor people. But mostly, if everyone else pays and you don't, then don't expect help, everyone can afford $20 a year. That's what I had to pay and I am more poor than middle class. If they refuse to pay $20 it's only out of the need to take advantage of others and if you do that, don't expect help.
Rueda said no one told him about the dues policy when he moved in 1 1/2 years ago."
I'm bettin Rueda is a liar.
It's not about wanting fire service for free. It's also not like insurance, unless you include "uncle Guido's protection insurance".
If this guy has done anything wrong, its that he's not paid a tax. Clearly he should have done that. But for the fire department to check and see whether he bought tickets to the "firemen's ball" (as they call it 'round these parts) and refuse to fight the fire... is just lame.
Obviously, they're doing it as a "lesson" for everybody else to pay up their protection money.
If you won't pay your $35 a year, what is supposed to make me think you can afford the $4000?
In other words, I loan you $35 and you won't pay it back then you turn around and expect me to loan you $4000. Doesn't make sense.
And besides, it was $20 that our rural fire department requires us to pay.
That's what I suggested in post 146. It would have to be quite high to keep the dues attractive. Again read my post 146. Although I understand this system, I don't like it. It creates situations that are lose/lose. What if a life is lost? Then the guilt of being able to help but not is high. But then that's what the POTUS has to do every day when he wakes up.
Outrageous.
I love it. I wish more, heck, all, public services were this way.
You said: You know, they could have put the fire out when the guy offered to pay and then billed him for it.
***
I wonder if that would work for life insurance, too. As I lay dying, I just take out my 25 million dollar policy then-- at the normal premium price, of course.
Who would pay the fee if they could wait to see if they would ever have a fire? No one, that's who. How much fire equipment would those dues buy???
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