Firefighters let home burn

[goof2]

Originally Posted by TYEster

How many houses are burning down on a regular basis? Fee or not... Are they called every week to run water from their truck?

Plus the asshole said on the phone he'd pay what he owed. I think that right there says "ok I admit I skipped your fee's but I'll pay them now put my fire out".

Fuck those firefighters I hope they burn in their sleep for letting defenseless animals die.

Shocking he all of a sudden discovered the value in paying for firefighting service about the same time his house caught on fire. At that point what stops everyone in the community from not paying right up until their house catches on fire? I understand your hatred of the firefighters but how about spreading around some of your "die in a fire" attitude to the homeowners for being irresponsible and not paying their bills as well?

Sounds like this community needs to reevaluate their current system. Set it up to put a levy against the homeowners land for the cost of fighting the fire. Don't allow the issue of any building permits for repairs until the levy is paid. If it isn't paid after a reasonable amount of time foreclose on the land and sell it at auction. The homeowner may even be able to put in a claim for the cost against their homeowners insurance.

[TYEster]

Originally Posted by goof2

Shocking he all of a sudden discovered the value in paying for firefighting service about the same time his house caught on fire. At that point what stops everyone in the community from not paying right up until their house catches on fire? I understand your hatred of the firefighters but how about spreading around some of your "die in a fire" attitude to the homeowners for being irresponsible and not paying their bills as well?

Good for him, maybe he'll keep on his "bills".

Maybe they should already have them paid in every other way everyone else does?

I do share my DIAF for almost EVERYONE. People who skip bills, scam others, screw the system, etc who are all responsible for my rates going up can in fact, DIAF!

But why could the firefighters not do the humane thing? I guess I can't get the answer to this question because no one's paid their fee to do so.

[goof2]

Originally Posted by TYEster

Good for him, maybe he'll keep on his "bills".

Maybe they should already have them paid in every other way everyone else does?

I do share my DIAF for almost EVERYONE. People who skip bills, scam others, screw the system, etc who are all responsible for my rates going up can in fact, DIAF!

But why could the firefighters not do the humane thing? I guess I can't get the answer to this question because no one's paid their fee to do so.

I guess if they stop giving you your paycheck you will do the humane thing and just continue going in to work anyway?

There are a lot of different ways this community could have run their fire service and I'm sure they will reevaluate the way they charge for it in the future. You deleted the way I suggested they should go about doing it.

What remains is this community did not run their fire service any of those ways. They gave their residents the freedom to pay for, or opt out of, the fire department. This guy, intentionally or not, opted out. Since when are people entitled to services they don't pay for?

[TYEster]

Originally Posted by goof2

I guess if they stop giving you your paycheck you will do the humane thing and just continue going in to work anyway?

Sure would if my job involved me saving lives of innocent animals and broken homes that have the potential to make decent contributing members to society. I mean I guess being a sales rep is the same as a civil servant and all....

You have yet to actually come up with an excuse as to why they failed to do their job that's not related to "money".

[Captain Morgan]

Originally Posted by TYEster

Sure would if my job involved me saving lives of innocent animals and broken homes that have the potential to make decent contributing members to society. I mean I guess being a sales rep is the same as a civil servant and all....

You have yet to actually come up with an excuse as to why they failed to do their job that's not related to "money".

Look at it this way... The fire department in that community had set forth rules that a $75 annual fee is required for them to come put out a fire. The $75 fee is an upfront fee for doing their job. Technically, he never "hired" them to do the job since he didn't pay the retainer. There was no contract in place for them to do any work and bill him later. The "contract" was that a fee needed to be paid annually in order to get the services provided. It wasn't "their job" to put out his house because he never entered into an agreement for such. They did "their job" by keeping the fire away from the neighbor's house, who had entered into the agreement and paid the required money.

In this particular case, their job isn't to just put out any fire. Their job is to put out fires for the people who have paid for the service. See the insurance analogies above.

But again, I think the structure needs to be changed so the fees are included in property taxes, but then you still have the issue of "what if someone doesn't pay their taxes?"

People pay for services rendered, in one form or another. Whether that is through actual payment, through trade, or through taxes.

If they put his fire out, even though he didn't pay the fee, the rest of the community will stop paying the fee, since it's clear they don't have to. If the community stops paying, then the fire department doesn't respond to that community at all.

[goof2]

Originally Posted by TYEster

Sure would if my job involved me saving lives of innocent animals and broken homes that have the potential to make decent contributing members to society. I mean I guess being a sales rep is the same as a civil servant and all....

You have yet to actually come up with an excuse as to why they failed to do their job that's not related to "money".

I don't need an excuse because they didn't fail to do their job. Their job is to fight fires for residents who have chosen to take advantage of their services, which is exactly what they did. You are putting some kind of moral imperative on the firefighters that, in this case, I'm just not seeing.

[Papa_Complex]

Originally Posted by goof2

I don't need an excuse because they didn't fail to do their job. Their job is to fight fires for residents who have chosen to take advantage of their services, which is exactly what they did. You are putting some kind of moral imperative on the firefighters that, in this case, I'm just not seeing.

There's an even easier way to look at it. The nearby town has a fire department. The county where he lives doesn't. The town's fire department contracted with SPECIFIC RESIDENTS of that county, to provide service. He didn't 'sign' the contract, so he doesn't get service.

It's not like he's within their normal service area and didn't get service.

[goof2]

Originally Posted by Papa_Complex

There's an even easier way to look at it. The nearby town has a fire department. The county where he lives doesn't. The town's fire department contracted with SPECIFIC RESIDENTS of that county, to provide service. He didn't 'sign' the contract, so he doesn't get service.

It's not like he's within their normal service area and didn't get service.

Sure, and this is bolstered by the article Paul posted that stated residents in this area couldn't get fire service at any price until 1990 when this system was implemented.