Nice House You Have There, Shame If Anything Happened To It
Via WPSD Local 6:
A local neighborhood is furious after firefighters watched as an Obion County, Tennessee, home burned to the ground.
The homeowner, Gene Cranick, said he offered to pay whatever it would take for firefighters to put out the flames, but was told it was too late. They wouldn’t do anything to stop his house from burning.
Each year, Obion County residents must pay $75 if they want fire protection from the city of South Fulton. But the Cranicks did not pay.
The mayor said if homeowners don’t pay, they’re out of luck.
This fire went on for hours because garden hoses just wouldn’t put it out. It wasn’t until that fire spread to a neighbor’s property, that anyone would respond.
Turns out, the neighbor had paid the fee.
[emphasis mine]
Privatization rocks! Can’t wait until we start reporting on police watching an assault and ambulances not picking up at certain addresses.
Tags: public services, taxes
…or… everybody hates taxes until their house in on fire.
Exactly.
and this IS the Libertarian view as well!!
until its their house burning…….
point of interest – seeing as the homeowner DID in fact pay the fee and the insurance will make the homeowner whole
will the insirance company them subrogate the claim to the fire company – thence the town and the town will go broke – not to mention the civi claim against the city for pain and suffering by the homeowner
interesting………
$75 / year for fire protection.
I wonder what Mr. Cranick paid for cable?
This is why taxes are compulsory.
I had something to say, but then I decided to ckeck ‘reports on the ground’ local blogs from people who knew the area — and are Progressive — much as I’ve found a blog like this has a better understanding of the CODfish than national blogs.. The first one I checked was the always solid Southern Beale who I find had lived in the area. He gets it, and gets it good. He doesn’t treat it as a ‘quaint’ horror story, he doesn’y — as the headline does — place the blame on the FD, but where it belongs.
The whole article is worth careful reading, but is too long to quote here. I’ll just include the ‘money quote’ of the ending:
were these government firemen or volunteers?
Had donations to the Vol Fire Co slacked off as people grew complacent?
This isn’t the first time a Vol Fire Co let a non-subscribers building burn (after checking to ensure no lives were at risk).
Mr. Cranick should charge the fire company a $75 fee for him to pull over when a fire truck with lights and siren is behind him. If they don’t pay…
Or, give every homeless person in town a ticket to the Fireman’s Ball.
Check out this related story; http://www.nwtntoday.com/news.php?viewStory=46801
made possible by frauds like Ron Paul and his even more idiotic son…..
Certain things should not be privatized — police and fire are among them.
The problem is that you on the left define everything as essential government services, even those things that are demonstrably not.
Pretty sure that Southern Beale is a she.
from COD’s website: “Spending Believes unrestrained government spending is eroding our freedom, destroying our economy and ceding our sovereignty to foreign debt- holders like China. ”
how do you think that the Cranicks feel about unrestrained government spending?
I guess restrained government did a nice job in protecting the Cranicks’ freedom, huh!
What does COD have to say about the role of government to provide fire protection to Delaware?
“The problem is that you on the left define everything as essential government services, even those things that are demonstrably not.”
like what? because whatever predictions your right wing oracle may make about guaranteed health care, (seeing as we are only starting to give it a chance) the private sector has proven a total failure at helping us stay healthy and alive.
what they are good at is letting poor and sick people die to get bigger bonuses….. all hail the free market.
Fun Fact…
Delaware is the only state in the union who’s capitol is protected by Volunteer Fire Co’s.
Only Wilmington and the airport/DAFB have Government Firefighters.
what does that say about the role of government to provide fire protection in Delaware?
I don’t see what the problem is here. Residents OUTSIDE of city limits are offered service from the CITY of South Fulton for a yearly fee of $75. Apparently the County cannot muster its own fire fighting force. This is the asinine quote from the homeowner:
“I thought they’d come out and put it out, even if you hadn’t paid your $75, but I was wrong,” said Gene Cranick.”
So instead of planning ahead, paying the fee to keep his family home safe, his thought process was, let those other suckers pay. I bet they’ll still put my house out if it catches fire.
Sounds to me like Mr. Cranick learned a very expensive lesson.
WPSD 6, that’s my hometown station. I’ll have to ask my parents about this story. It sounds weird though – when did counties start having voluntary fire protection fees? Is Olbion County, Tennessee government full of tax whiners who made a decision for a volutary fee?
The County has no fire force. The City has one, and they offer their services to people in the unincorporated areas.
what does that say about the role of government to provide fire protection in Delaware?
The state provides about half of the funds for volunteer firefighters, and volunteer units are struggling to deal with their expenses. So what that says to me is that the taxpayers in the rest of the state aren’t doing enough to pay for their volunteer services.
UI, the NWTN article says the current system has been in place for 20 years.
Dear Christ. Why didn’t the jackass just pay the $75? I would bet anything that the fee was rolled out and he refused to pay it as a matter of principle. Sorry, I just can’t seem to muster up too much pity for him.
Why is it the government’s responsibility to put out fires at private residences? Why shouldn’t we have to pay for that service like we pay for homeowners insurance?
Here’s a solution that will probably please those of you on the left – why don’t insurance companies pay for fire companies? They can well afford to and they’re the ones who stand to gain (or save) the most from their services – at least in terms of money.
I think there are greater public safety concerns at risk here, DVM. The fire department and city should have realized that. Good thing it wasn’t a dry day or the fire could have picked up and gone wild. Look beyond the micro. There’s a bigger picture here. Is the guy an ass? Definitely. But the city should have put it out if only to contain it from potentially spreading even further.
Yeah, and same thing for ambulances. Why should the government provide EMT’s and transportation for injured private jackasses? Let ’em rot where they lie. Even buzzards gotta eat.
Let ‘em rot where they lie. Even buzzards gotta eat.
Wasn’t that Bush’s Katrina plan?
I talked to my mom tonight. This story is 100% true.
Mike – If Elsmere said you had to pay $75/year or the fire department wouldn’t put a fire out at your house, would you pay it? I thought I read that the fire department stepped in when it looked like the fire would spread to the next-door neighbor.
Anonone – Actually, EMTs and transportation are generally billed to the victim after the fact.
Of course I’d pay it. I don’t know what city wouldn’t just include that in their taxes and fees anyway without having to make it a separate line item. That’s ridiculous unto itself. Again, though, there are implications here that should have necessitated the city saying “Fuck it, we need to put out this fire NOW so that nothing bad comes of it. We’ll bill the dude on the backend and make his life a living hell.”
We own a house in Jefferson Farms. Evidently, the civic association sends a bill for annual dues directly to the rental property. We didn’t pay it for years because our tenant never told us about it. During a blizzard a few years ago, they plowed every street except ours because so many people on our street didn’t pay their dues. Needless to say, we paid the back dues as soon as we found out about them, but we weren’t pissed. Like Phil said, it’s not fair to expect the rest of the suckers to pay for everything.
I don’t think the house was within the city limits. As rational as your idea sounds, it’s flawed. The dude wouldn’t pay $75, what makes you think he’d pay for the cost of putting out the fire?
There was a rule and he broke it. One of the problems with society is that people simply don’t believe there should be consequences for their actions – whether it’s not paying the $75 or committing crimes or having too many babies or dropping out of school. I’ll bet that fire department will start receiving checks upon receipt of future bills.
Anonone – Actually, I’m not sure about the EMTs, but the transportation is.
In my opinion, if a fire company, volunteer or otherwise, receives one cent of state or federal funds, assistance, or benefits (pension, Workman’s Compensation…), they are obligated to serve all the taxpayers.
http://www.dvfassn.com/benefits.cfm
I receive at least two solicitations per year from the nearest volunteer fire company. Nowhere is it written or spoken, that they will not respond to non-contributors, but I am aware of that possibility. FTR, I also own property in the jurisdiction (no structures) of the same Volunteer Fire Dept.
Quite a few years ago, I was approached by a friend on behalf of that local VFD inviting me to join. Apparently, they had a specific number of openings each year, and the reason I was being directly recruited was to fill the slots before they had to consider accepting any blacks who may apply. I haven’t looked at the current demographics, but my guess is that the tradition continues to some extent. I hope times have changed, but that left a lasting impression.
You’re missing the point. The home in question is OUTSIDE the department’s jurisdiction. No fire company has responsibility, by law, for the area the home is in. A neighboring company offers its services, for a fee. If they put out the fire without having had been paid, guess how many people will pay next year? 0. Then the taxpayers of the city will have defacto agreed to foot the bill for the entire county.
Um, so what’s the policy in Delaware? Our house is between Middletown and Townsend (NCC), but not within the city limits of either. (zip code is Townsend) If our house catches fire, will Townsend VFD respond (they are closest), or must we “purchase” protection from them? How is “jurisdiction” determined? City limits? Zip code? Other?
applewax,
While I recomend supporting your local VFD, you can probably continue your free ride, as your neighbors have genorously supported the VFD’s of Delaware.
And if applewax is paying taxes in Delaware, he or she is also already supporting the local VFD.
“And if applewax is paying taxes in Delaware, he or she is also already supporting the local VFD.”
Exactly. More than he/she will ever know. A minor case in point: The Homeland Security Grants earmarked for law enforcement(state and federal) were virtually raped by the VFD’s,primarily because of the former ‘fireman’ that Minner put in charge of the funds.
That being said, I don’t believe the same thing that happened in Tennessee would happen in Delaware.
Due to the enormous numbers of people who are NOT paying their taxes (and similar numbers who don’t bother with insurance) I’m OK with a belt and suspenders approach to putting out fires. I want the fire company supplied…and I’m skeered of ladders.