In Tennessee most VFD {VFD was not the case here though} have mutual aid assist agreements even crossing county lines. If my home was on fire there is a good chance a pumper from a neighboring VFD would be dispatched as well.
cva66snipe, thank you. I wrote some strong words but it’s about personal responsibility. No volly fire fighter wants to watch a fire, we want to put it out. In the case of a entrapment, I’m certain a rescue would be attempted regardless of the financial agreeent or lack thereof.
You mention mutual aid. These are actual agreements between fire districts or local governments. The purpose is to leagally cover the fire company in case of accident or loss. Without a mutual aid agreement there is no legal responsibility on the part of the homeowner if a fire fighter gets killed or a truck damaged.
In the fire service there is a rule of thumb, it goes: Risk Much to Save Much, Risk Little to Save Little. In EMS, it is: The Most Important Person on an Ambulance Call is Me. When I broke my foot, I was of no further use to the patient and a liability to the rest of my crew. As a general statement, a trailer fire out of district falls into the risk little catagory. A fully involved structure fire has temperatures of approx 2000 degrees. No living thing is alive in that environment. I reciently participated in a demo, a gas fed kitchen simulator that had a temperature of 1350 degrees. With full bunkers and on air I thought I was going to die, no kidding.
I cannot tell you how many times I have been to dwelling fires where the renter had no homeowners insurance. They cry to us asking what can we do for them to replace their stuff. Renters insurance is like $100.00 per year.
One other thing, a city fire dept generally relies on hydrants for a water supply. Out in the country where I live, no hydrants. We have 1000 gallons in engine 411, 500 gallons in engine 451 (with CAFS system) and 2100 gallons in tanker 431. Rural fire compnies have to always think about water, how much they have and where they can get some more. The nearest pond or hydrant may be 5 miles away.