Fire Chief watches house burn over $75 tax

[patrick0685]

being from TN i was sad to see this bad press about my old state, but as sad as it is i think the fire chief did as he should, one of the things nice about TN is the low taxes, they have 9% sales tax, no income tax, $28 for your car (the roads are way better too). So if the guy knowing that he could pay a $75 dollar tax decided on his own will that he would NOT pay tax for fire protection then it was his own dumb ass fault that his house burned down. They announce it for months that your payment is due, and apparently take late checks. Im sure if there was a life at risk or something like that they would have been saved but I dont believe they should risk anything for a guy that is unwilling to help himself. From what i read they didnt even roll the trucks out until the neighbors called so their house wouldnt burn, so more than likely by the time they got there they couldnt do much for his house. Is the system the best, no, but he was willing to save 6 dollars a month (two trips to starbucks, one trip to out to eat) on fireprotection then he got what he paid for. He didnt want a general tax for the protection, he didnt want to pay the 75 bucks, he didnt really want his house i guess.

[Byte Stryke]

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

because as with any great bureaucracy, Governemnt controlled and government funded are 2 different things.
We had raffles, Bake sales, car washes and dances to by a new brush truck (read 1-1/4 ton Army surplus willys conversion) but the state, county and fed had their say in Color, lighting requirements TAXES as well as safety equipment, manning requirements equipment, controls positioning, Numbering, etc etc.

[patrick0685]

well said Byte Stryke, id put $10 if it was an illegal's house and he paid the tax it would have been save, if not it woulda burnt too.

[Ah Pook]

My parents live on the outskirts of Knoxville. The VFD came to their house, laid out their services, and said that if would be $XXX a year for coverage. No asking for donations. They expected a check to be written right then.

I live in a VFD area and they cover all properties, whether you donate or not.

I guess my question would be why not put the fire out then send the home owner a bill. What if this back fires and home owners quit paying the $75 duty?

Does home owners insurance track if these fees are paid or not? I'd guess their fire ratings would definitely change.

[patrick0685]

The VFD came to their house, laid out their services, and said the if would be $XXX a year for coverage.

what? In KY they have a similar system but if you dont pay the coverage and your house catches on fire they come out and then send you the bill, if you dont pay put a lien on your house. Sounds somewhat better but I bet even with the lien people wouldnt pay for a while. to many of those people and the department would go broke and the people that paid would be shit out of luck.

[Irving]

I've been thinking about this, and while I still think that an attempt to put the fire out should have been made, I'm not at all sorry for the guy since he didn't pay his fee.

[patrick0685]

I've been thinking about this, and while I still think that an attempt to put the fire out should have been made, I'm not at all sorry for the guy since he didn't pay his fee.

the longer i thought about it, the more i thought he was a dumb ass too

[hip55]

Good thing nobody came running out of the trailer on fire- they probably would have to turn around for that.

[GreenScoutII]

In general I'm in favor of smaller government and greater personal freedom and responsibility, but any idea can be carried to an illogical extreme.

For a fire department to not make an attempt to extinguish a fire sounds pretty illogical to me. Especially over 75 bucks.

Not everything should be profit driven. Some things, such as fire protection, should be a public service.

If nothing else, they could have put out the fire then billed him for actual costs of putting it out.

[Troublco]

I bet if they'd turned a hose on it, he would have happily given them the $75 and been a good spokeperson for the area on why others should do the same. Considering the services a lot of folks who don't pay taxes receive, this seems a bit extreme. Do the people in this country who don't pay taxes get denied services when a natural disaster strikes their area? (Katrina comes to mind.) No. If we're going to start picking and choosing who gets services based on paying taxes, then we might as well pull cops out of a lot of bad inner city areas and let those people fend for themselves. FEMA can save a lot of money not helping people who don't pay taxes. CCW holders are supposed to help others if they witness someone else who needs assistance (protection wise), but they don't get paid for it. (Yes, I know, they're not govt) The Fire Department, volunteer or otherwise, should respond to a fire. I seriously doubt this guy would have been fired for helping out; I bet now there's a lawsuit no matter whether he paid or not. Of course, I suppose it's possible that the Fire Department has no requirement to put out a fire; just like there is no constitutional right to police protection.