Posted on 12/06/2011 4:33:24 PM PST by Free ThinkerNY
A Tennessee couple helplessly watched their home burn to the ground, along with all of their possessions, because they did not pay a $75 annual fee to the local fire department.
Vicky Bell told the NBC affiliate WPSD-TV that she called 911 when her mobile home in Obion County caught fire. Firefighters arrived on the scene but as the fire raged, they simply stood by and did nothing. "In an emergency, the first thing you think of, 'Call 9-1-1," homeowner Bell said.
However, Bell and her husband were forced to walk into the burning home in an attempt to retrieve their own belongings. "You could look out my mom's trailer and see the trucks sitting at a distance," Bell said. "We just wished we could've gotten more out."
South Fulton Mayor David Crocker defended the fire department, saying that if firefighters responded to non-subscribers, no one would have an incentive to pay the fee.
Residents in the city of South Fulton receive the service automatically, but it is not extended to those living in the greater county-wide area.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
I do not know what to say....
I was a volunteer fireman in my small west Tennessee town.
There was no fee for service, but my last activity was over fifteen years ago.
I just can not imagine watching a home burn and not doing anything to save it.
Surely there would be other options for payment in such situations.
>>It sounds like they responded. They just didn’t do anything. Have to be pretty desperate for a $75 fee to use this approach.<<
I hate to sound callous, but think of this more on the order of flood insurance. If a flood happens and you didn’t get around to buying flood insurance, you can’t really get mad at the Allstate guy.
I am sure the FD showed up to keep it from spreading.
You get what you pay for. In this case zero buys a lot of nothing, just like in real life.
Apparently this is a city FD that offers service outside the city by annual contract for a mere $75.
Residents in the city of South Fulton receive the service automatically, but it is not extended to those living in the greater county-wide area.
Was this news last year or is this another incident by the South Fulton Fire Department?
Welcome to Pay/Go....
.... got all kinds of responses for the angle of rotation, if you chose the type of SCREW.....
Ditto !
“Aren’t fire departments usually funded through taxes?”
Nope. In a lot of rural areas fire protection comes from either purely volunteer fire departments or from professional fire companies. A fire company being a private business that provides a service local government is unable to provide for whatever reason. Not much different than a private garbage service, really, that handles garbage removal for those who pay for it unlike in New York City where the municipal garbage service tends not to provide services to those who pay for it.
“I guess they’re Union firefighters”
Nope they’re volunteers. It’s like insurance. You buy it before the fire or you’re not covered. This story is over a year old also, why is it being rehashed?
This is a new incident although in the same county where Gene Cranick's house burnt back in September 2010. And that's my point in the prior post. The homeowner should have learned from what happened last year since it happened in the same general vicinity.
Please read your tax bill....
Here’s what’s happening in a lot of towns. 90% of the real estate taxes are going to employee and retiree benefits. So they charge for the normal services extra. In my town they actually charge extra if there is a street light on your block.
The couple made the right choice by not paying the $75.00 per year to the fire department to simply protect a trailer house.
First, the homeowners insurance should cover much of the loss and second, the fire department would have likely not saved the trailer house from being destroyed even if they had put out the fire.
Do they pay taxes? If so, there should not be an additional fee. Isn’t that what taxes are supposedly payed for?
I am guessing that they would perform life saving service if required.
wow. stunning. both the lack of humanity and the statist drones believing that the gov’t won’t withhold their healthcare when the need it.
The family apparently didn’t think protection was worth $75.00 a year.
Looks like they may have miscalculated.
You are absolutely right.
I’d like to see our once great independent self reliant affluent middle class nation get greater. It ain’t happening today. Subsequent generations are doing worse. We’re fighting wars that don’t benefit us. Our products are made in China. Now we have a Post Office on the brink of bankruptcy, and fire fighters that don’t put out fires.
We can put the blame all over the map but that doesn’t fix it for our kids and grand kids. The fact is the USA is going downhill and that needs reversed now.
Sounds like this one is funded by city taxes and these people apparently lived outside the city. Thus the fee.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.