Firefighters Let Home Burn Over Unpaid Fee

I get the need to watch your bottom line, believe me. And if there were two houses burning at the same time and only 1 paid the fee, I'd be totally in favor of saving the one that paid the fee.

But if you don't have anywhere else you have to be? If you'd just be playing cards in the firehouse? Put out the damn fire.Seriously. So what would have happened if there had been a person trapped inside as the home burned? "Sorry son, we can't save your father because he forgot to send his $75 check. Better luck next time."

To me this is like a doctor idly standing by out of fear of a law suit while the person next to him at a restaurant dies of a heart attack.

On a positive firefighters note:

I took my son to visit the fire house after work last night in my neighborhood. the reason I did it was because they came to visit his day care and he was really scared of them, so I was nervous that if we had a fire he may not go to a fireman if he needed rescuing. Probably a over protective parent move but hey I rather be safe then sorry. Anywho, they were super nice showed him all the equipment one guy even put on his stuff and hat so he could see how they look. It seemed to work my son really warmed up to them and had a ball they even invited us for dinner with them.

Man firefighters are awesome. In general they are the exact opposite of police in my opinion. They are helpful and usually very enjoyable to deal with.

If you don't pay, your house burns. Seems reasonable to me that they shouldn't put the fire out so along as everyone knows the consequence of not paying your protection money. Free market at work.

I hope they have a police protection fee in the works.

What if there were children in the home?? Would they have forgotten about the fee then? Even to let animals die is just a f'ing shame.

What if there were children in the home?? Would they have forgotten about the fee then?

Rules are rules...they will likely die because of their parent's negligence. You are free to pay or not pay, it is incumbent upon you to insure the safety of your house and children.

Tough sh*t, the invisible hand at work.

3 dogs and a cat died? the guy said he tried to put the fire out with his garden hose (in another article). Why couldnt he have just opened the damn front door and let them out? its a freakin double wide, cant be that hard to atleast get the dogs out.

Also surprised noone has commented on the son going down to the station and punching the fire chief in his face. that a boy!

its a shame that the guy said he paid the fee last year and the year before but just forgot to pay this year.

FRPLG - that makes the most sense. have the county/township enter into a contract then pass the cost in taxes.

as americans we have to be careful about public policies favoring the wealthy, especially when it comes to basic services and rights.

a few years ago they debated about whether you could pay a fee to drive solo in the HOV lanes. this sounds good and all but really it is saying rich people dont have to wait in traffic like the poor people.

Rules are rules...they will likely die because of their parent's negligence. You are free to pay or not pay, it is incumbent upon you to insure the safety of your house and children.

Tough sh*t, the invisible hand at work.

Talk about a shit storm if a kid died over a $75 fee.

3 dogs and a cat died? the guy said he tried to put the fire out with his garden hose (in another article). Why couldnt he have just opened the damn front door and let them out? its a freakin double wide, cant be that hard to atleast get the dogs out.

Also surprised noone has commented on the son going down to the station and punching the fire chief in his face. that a boy!

its a shame that the guy said he paid the fee last year and the year before but just forgot to pay this year.

FRPLG - that makes the most sense. have the county/township enter into a contract then pass the cost in taxes.

as americans we have to be careful about public policies favoring the wealthy, especially when it comes to basic services and rights.

a few years ago they debated about whether you could pay a fee to drive solo in the HOV lanes. this sounds good and all but really it is saying rich people dont have to wait in traffic like the poor people.

Depending on where the fire was perhaps the animals were trapped? I find it hard to believe nobody thought about trying to open a door.

As far as his son, yeah good for him. Now he's up for a felony. Smart move. So now they can tack on a bunch of legal fees in addition to having to find a new place to live.

My question is who has the time to look this stuff up when the alarms are going off? Or does every house have a sticker on it like the car property tax sticker in VA?

My gut tells me there is more to the story like someone didn't like this guy and they found a loop hole when he was in need.

Talk about a shit storm if a kid died over a $75 fee.

And the impending lawsuit the county would face.