If someone in the neighboring “paid” house had been killed due to the fire spreading, what then? Would the original homeowner be charged with murder because he hadn’t paid his $75, or would the FD/town be at fault for not responding to the original emergency?
Look, I get what you’re saying. Nobody here is going to argue against the personal responsibility issue. But seriously — it’s just wrong that these firefighters would all stand around watching this guy’s home destroyed. And as to the “who would pay next year”, again I say, I would and I believe most everyone would, esp. knowing what the cost after-the-fact would be.
Our town’s FD has an ambulance insurance program, where you can pay 40 or 50 bucks a year and they guarantee no add’l fees for any ambulance trips. Otherwise, as I understand it, that can get ridiculously expensive.
I wasn’t there, but I would assume that the Fire Department saturated the ground and the neighboring homes to prevent the spread of the fire. Possibly spraying foam as a heat barrier to protect the neighbors from possible heat damage.
But, this is a poor county. The county cannot afford the Fire Department, this is the ONLY way the local gov’t could provide the service, and that is to charge each homeowner $75/yr for coverage.
It’s exactly like insurance. Consider, if the Fire Department is struggling financially (which I would venture a guess that they are), this situation should certainly get other homeowners to cough up $75 for next year.
Without a cash flow - the entire FD goes away, then everyone’s home turns to ash.