Firefighters watch house go up in flames
 

This is just sad!

Rural Tennessee fire sparks conservative ideological debate

Haven't we moved beyond this? I mean it's sad to see the day when it's your JOB to help people in need and you can't/won't do it!

If you watch the video the guy even says he's paid it before and that it just slipped his mind. This kinda makes me sick. :(

This is what happens when you privatize a public service.
You end up with shake-down artists.

Least the department could have done was put out the blaze and then charge them for the service after the fact.

what a weird idea, shouldn't the Fire department get some money from the regular taxes?


"Fire Protection" fee very mafia-esque

this totally sickened me when i heard about it. i mean what the hell has the Fire Department become to act like this?

Now...I can't seem to find the information, but some people are saying there were pets in the home that burned alive while the Firemen watched.

Sure....they were animals ( I would have been devastated had they been mine) but would they have stood by while a human burned alive in that home? Makes you wonder...

I heard about this, too. It makes me sick to think that they would do something like this.

Don't hospitals do the same? No insurance? Get out!

Not to my knowledge, and certainly not in emergency situations.

No, I've been to many a hospital with out insurance. they just send you a gigantic bill each time.

Well, I'm glad at least some institutions have a heart.

Should have paid. It's 75 dollars a year. If everyone else on the block was paying it and he wasn't it's not fair to them if his house got saved. Call it cruel if you want but I bet he learned his lesson. You wouldn't feel bad for someone who drove without insurance, wrapped their car around a lamp post, and had to buy a new car. Why? Because They could have prevented it by paying a small fee that is easily outweighed by the fee of replacing a car, or a house.

I agree that he should have paid it, but this seems like something you can bill later instead of letting burn the guy's entire life and memory away.

It's messed up but it's the law I guess. They should have taken the fire out and then charged his ass. That way everyone wins.

While I agree it's messed up if they did that, just helped him and let him pay later, they'd be sending the message that everyone can do that. No one would pay that fee anymore and assume they can just wait till their house is on fire and then pay it. That isn't how an insurance company would work either. It's a harsh lesson. I just hope he had fire insurance at least.

I live in Tennessee.....not uncommon to have fire districts.

The thing is.....the fee is sorta like a tax. In that county, who knows how they voted to allocate property tax income (that's what usually feeds fire districts). But even still. The fee is how the fire department pays its bills....buy new equipment.....stuff like that.

It's sad.....don't think anything died.....but basically he just didn't receive a service he didn't pay for.......which is how all the conservatives roll down here.

This is absolutely pathetic, I don't care about their tax policies, it was only $75 and they could've waited for it a few minutes longer, the fire department had no excuse for this as far as I'm concerned, and actually from what I heard there were animals, three dogs and a cat, who perished. That's criminal negligence and cruelty to animals; they better darn well be sued big time for this.

So the fire department should be sued because someone neglected to pay their bills on time? A bill they are only required to pay once a year mind you. If you don't pay your water bill they shut it off. You don't pay your electric bill they shut it off. How is this any different then that? Sorry but if your so irresponsible that you forget to pay money you owe then that's your own problem for being stupid.

my thoughts EXACTLY

The way this is different is that it's an emergency situation. People can figure out ways to compensate when their water/gas/electricity is turned off. But in this situation, you take care of what can't be recovered if lost like the lives of pets and the priceless family heirlooms first, then you worry about the issues that can afford to wait afterwards (money included); money debts can be made up for, this can't be. I care more about justice than the law, and you can't just make an example out of someone using means like this and expect everyone who hears about it to condone with you about it, the ends don't justify it; just because the owner forgets to pay a small bill is no excuse to punish the whole family for it. The plain simple fact they apparently didn't make an attempt to save the pets alone makes them criminally liable.

I don't know about the laws where you live, but here if you don't pay your utilities or your rent and there are children on the premises they can't evict you or turn off your services.

Huh. So what's to stop those people from not paying ever? Do they eventually take the child away or something?

That's the part that saddens me the most.

What is the world coming to is money that more important than a life. I lost my house to fire 4 years ago now being in Australia the fire fighters came as fast as they could. We don't have a $75 bill to pay. Just really sad that that had to happen to that poor man.

I'm with the Other Kevin here. It's the same here. If you have a person in the home who is on oxygen, then they can't shut of your electricity (which sounds like a decent thing to do.) but what's to keep them paying the bill? It's a catch 22.

I believe there's a certain amount of time and then the landlord/company takes it to the courts to decide. But I'm not entirely certain about that.
It varies state by state, but there's usually good resources online if you're curious about what is, or isn't, legal in your neck of the woods.

The thing is....IF he had payed his bill every year before (as he stated) Then it's a good indication that it really did just slip. I mean....why the crap would you pay every year and then just....stop? Not to mention it's not even the end of the year yet....he still had time to pay up. Even most insurance companies have a "grace period" for late payments.

I dunno....it just seems heartless to say he deserved it....

What I don't understand is how there is a tax....isn't that what your property taxes go to? Around here the property taxes cover that sort of thing.

While I agree that he should have paid his bill, he didn't deserve to have his house burn down like that. As for people with no insurance, some hospitals can put people on a payment plan where they have to pay so much money a month. My sister's been on one because she has no insurance.

This is how Tennessee has decided to lay out their civil services, by privatizing them. Really, it's a Conservative/Libertarian wet dream sort of scenario.

Not all areas do that in Tennessee. Usually fire districts (and this is the case with this particular district) occur in rural unincorporated areas. The fire department of a nearby incorporated area (city or what have you) takes responsibility for the district. The fee is how these city fire departments pay for the additional wear and tear on their equipment, etc. Some counties allocate the rural property taxes to the fire districts. Some charge fees. Apparently this one charges a fee.

I live in Nashville. We don't have to pay the fee because our property taxes pay for our civil services.......but in these rural areas, they have lower tax rates and have to pay for other services. It's very common in southern rural areas.

WTF no public services there???

I have never herd of paying a annual fire protection fee, that's rediculous. That's paid via taxes...normally.

So they let some animals die and a house burn....assholes.