Fire Chief watches house burn over $75 tax

[OneGuy67]

I saw this article earlier in the week and we had a spirited debate on it at work. Many of my co-workers live in the boonies and have to contract with a lot of their basic services.

We came to the conclusion that it must have been a very hard decision to make by the Fire Chief and most likely, very agonizing for his men to just stand and watch, but....the person opted to not pay his fees for inclusion into their protection system. Not much different than driving without insurance and once you get into an accident, calling the insurance agent and asking for insurance coverage.

Very sorry for this man's loss; however, the responsibilty lies with him on this.

[sniper7]

I just want to know why a "volunteer" firefighter didn't put it out

What ever happened to lending a helping hand, doing the right thing, etc. etc.

there is the law that says let the guys house burn and everything he owns will disappear, then there is the simple fact that as another human being you should at least have the common decency to say, you know what, I have the power to help, I have nothing else to do, the guy is helpless as this point and the animals/posessions/home will be an ash pile if I don't do something.

I don't blame the law, sure I blame the guy for not paying the $75, but at the end of the day the Fire Chief should have stepped out, been a man and put out the fucking fire.

hope the fire chief loses his job, not because he didn't do his job, because he did, but just for being a complete fucking dick and not even being a man.

[Elhuero]

well if the guy refuses to pay property tax does he expect "volunteers" to pay his taxes for him?

My libertarian leanings don't like big govt and taxes, but fire dept is one thing I have no problem paying for.

Roads, bridges, bombs. All good.

Abortions, bloated govt worker salaries, welfare and schools that don't work... not so much.

[HBARleatherneck]

anyone a fireman here? go ask who pays for fire truck. federal and state grants, federal and state loans, federal and state taxes. so this homeowner in some way paid for the services. i live in a very rural area. i know my house will burn down before the first volunteer fireman gets here. i am ready for it. i have insurance.

but, i can guarantee you that this homeowner in some way paid for the equipment and or training the city uses.

also insurance companies actually foot some of the bill for equipment grants. they have a vested interest in seeing fires put out quick.

[copfish]

Sad, but he did have the option to pay. I'll bet it was hard for the Chief to stand by and be defensive, but if he made an exception, all would want service for nothing. Who pays for the equipment and insurance for the Fire Department?

[Byte Stryke]

Could you, as a Fire chief send men to put out a fire at a home that was "outside" of the fire protection subscription KNOWING that if:

• you will probably lose your job at a Minimum, if not go to jail.
• put firefighters at undue risk and if any are injured THEY ARE NOT COVERED.
• If, powers forbid, a firefighter is injured and it is deemed "outside of the scope of normal operations" his family will lose everything and so will you.

all because someone didn't pay their "Fire tax" or "Subscription"
semantics.



and as far as the "Volunteer" Fire dept... someone still has to cover all of those costs. in Rural areas like that they dont get State, County Tax Monies. It is a Subscription based income. Should you decide to "opt out" by not assisting with those costs, so be it.

As a Former firefighter I have to agree that it would be very difficult NOT to help fight the fire... BUT I Wont put my life at risk unless there is a life AT Risk.

Your house... your choice, your house in of itself isnt worth my life, especially when it isn't worth $75 to you.


I Can see it now had it spun a very different way
"Firefighter killed while putting out a house that hadn't paid their subscription."
The Chief is Jailed for reckless endangerment, misappropriation of department resources. The Municipality and Department is sued by the grieving widow and Orphans for wrongful death because it wasn't part of his job. ALL other "Subscribers" Sue the departments for fraud and stop paying for their subscriptions.

Would you pay for something knowing your neighbor was getting the same thing for free?

[Irving]

Even just turning the hose 20 degrees to the left would have been better than nothing. Don't want to risk guys lives for a property behind on taxes? I completely understand, but standing next to a burning house that you are ignoring doesn't sound like the most safe solution either.

I'm reluctant to say I feel 100% one way or the other, but for the most part, I'm in SAFriday and Sniper7's camp. Shit, I think my neighbors are worthless pieces of trash, but I'd still point a hose over there to put out a fire (especially since they are attached to my place!).

[Irving]

There is no way in hell the Chief would catch any grief if a firefighter was injured fighting that fire. Fire fighting is a dangerous job, and the presence of a paid tax doesn't make any other fires less dangerous. I doubt he'd even lose his job either, but I really have no idea on that one. Would a police officer get into trouble if he upheld the law outside of his jurisdiction? Probably, but a lot less trouble than if he just watched some crime happen that could have been prevented. If you are in uniform, there is no such thing as "off duty."

[Byte Stryke]

Even just turning the hose 20 degrees to the left would have been better than nothing. Don't want to risk guys lives for a property behind on taxes? I completely understand, but standing next to a burning house that you are ignoring doesn't sound like the most safe solution either.

I'm reluctant to say I feel 100% one way or the other, but for the most part, I'm in SAFriday and Sniper7's camp. Shit, I think my neighbors are worthless pieces of trash, but I'd still point a hose over there to put out a fire (especially since they are attached to my place!).

he wasn't "behind on his Property Taxes" he Refused to pay for his fire protection for whatever reason, for a NON GOVERNMENT FUNDED fire agency.

now this bunch of people has some people REALLY hard about the whole illegals not paying taxes and sucking up the resources etc.


how
is
this
different
?


He was expecting benefits from something he isn't paying for.


Fuck, why should anyone pay for the fire protection? Lets socialize everything? Right? I mean we should just EXPECT it, right? Fire protection, Ambulance services, Medical, Food, Pay?
Fuck, I'm gonna go out and vote for Michael Bennet and re-elect OBAMA!


/sarcasm

and HBAR, Out east their VFDs are VERY Different.
in NC I got a whipping $5/ Call and a $20 Annual. Our department worked on a subscription based system also. the only time we got city or county funds is when we were called by them to assist on their scenes.
we paid for our training.
we paid for our trucks
we paid for our insurance
we got nothing from the state.

we were so privatized that we had to be individually licensed to run a red beacon.
We had Private Plates, not Government plates on the trucks.
and we were told flatly, we were NOT to respond to any call with Dept resources unless dispatched by the chief or the emergency dispatch center. Anything else was a crime unless loss of life was imminent.



I'm starting to think this is an unexplainable situation

[Irving]

Wait, how can it be a CRIME to respond to something if you are a totally private company?


Also, $10 says if this was an illegal's house it would have been put out. Take that how you will, I'm not even sure how I mean it.