Tennessee family home burns while firefighters watch
 

A Tennessee couple helplessly watched their home burn to the ground, along with all of their possessions, because they did not pay a $75 annual fee to the local fire department.
Read more here. http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow...191241763.html


This was the same fire department that stood and watched another house burn last year.

If they paid the fees for city services to respond outside the city jurisdiction they would of been covered . Response fees for a service to respond outside jurisdiction is a normal occurance and no different than other insurance on your home.

We lived in an area with no county or VFD and paid the yearly response fee to keep our home owners insurance as low as possible. A neighbor who chose not to pay the $150 a year fee called 911 and was p.o'd that the nearby municipal fire dept responded and set up containment lines to keep his fire from spreading off his property to homes that subscribed for out of jd coverage after verifying no residents were in his house.

If folks in that county want city fire protection without paying subscription fees they should annex into the city that funds the fire department so they can pay city property taxes to help fund the department. Otherwise they should organize a VFD and solicit donations from their neighbors once a year to apply toward their share of equipment costs.

I bet they will pay next time.

I now wonder will their insurance (if they paid that) will refuse to pay too

If nobody paid, the fire department wouldn't have any money for equipment or to even put gas in the truck to respond! It's harsh, but it's the homeowner's own fault. I bet fire dues collections go up dramatically next year...

Our little town with an all volunteer department used to have an annual fee like that, but then they got a sales tax passed to fund the fire department and it avoids just such an unfortunate occurrance and gives them more money to work with.

Very likely. When I lived in a fire subscription zone we not only paid a higher fire premium, our insurance carrier required proof of subscription when I first applied for the policy. A coworker who lived in the area chose to let his subscription lapse after he had his homeowner's coverage in place for a year or two and a few years later his carrier cancelled his policy when an audit of his coverage showed he no longer subscribed for outside municipal jd fire response.

In the Department I was in you payed a fee if not then when you have a fire you were charge for the equipment that responded $500 per. If you did not pay you had a lean placed on your property. We had over 20 such leans placed on property. That all ended when the county started to collect it in property tax. Where I now live it is on a Fee based $75 per house or out building per year with a maxim of $150.

I guess we're all backwoods here... we have Volunteer Fire Dept.s.... they fight all fires, for rich and poor, and ask for nothing. They're driven community spirited individuals. They get no pay, no benefits... the county pays for the fuel and equipment when it breaks down... and lots and lots of donations from bake sales, straight donations, etc. I know half of the local crew, having went to school with them or their fathers...

IF a fire engine showed up, just to make a point about "you shoulda paid up" hillbilly, I'm sure the sheriff would have to show up and arrest me, because if they didn't get the freak out of there, their fire truck wouldn't leave the premises, full of rifle holes and if possible, set on fire. Sorry, but watching a home burn down would be a traumatic experience, and seeing a bunch of worthless sacks of shilomi (probably union) watching it burn when they had the ability to put it out, wouldn't set well.

If I lived in one of these misguided locales, I do believe I'd start my own VFD. I see surplus fire trucks on govt liquidation all the time. There's a monster of a fire truck on auction right now.

When this happened last year I was shocked that firemen would just stand around and watch a house burn. Nothing has changed in my mind since then.

Subscription services do not respond to "just watch" or to admonish the nonsubscribers. They respond to ensure that nearby subscribers are protected from the uncontrolled fire on the nonsubscribing owner's property.

What dont people understand is this country has to many free loaders, users, or just plain the government will support me. So you see why this once great USA is in the shape it is. Where do people think the money to support their lazy butts comes from?

Our area had the problem of non- subscribers wating to pay at the time the fire trucks arrived. This did not work know most pay at annual signup.

I used to be on a fire department at a volunteer fire department. things got so bad that we had to pay for fuel for the fire trucks out of our own pockets. I payed for fuel several times. But we never sat back and just watched it burn. Every time we were called we went and tried to put it out. Some times it was to involved to do much good and some times the person would come to us and say let it burn so I won't have much to clean up.
We also had mutual aid with 2 departments and if it went out as a house fire we all responded. That way you knew that at least 7 units would be responded to the fire.

Years ago I paid our VFD Fee.Had a fire at our place,neighbors went to the closes Phone which happen to be the person that collected the Fees.She was told to call the VFD.

We stopped in there after work,knowing nothing of the fire.Visited for an hour.Still no mention of the fire. Get ready to leave,"Oh there was a fire over at your place,neighbors told me to call VFD." "Well did you?" "No their Volunteers they work,it should be out by now".

We drive Home,found it was a Brush fire my Neighbor had accidentally started.Burt our Winters supply of wood and go within 10 foot of the house.The old woman just couldn't understand why I was soooooo dang Mad at her for not calling. :censored:

big rockpile

Fee was only $1.50 per week averaged out. Not much more than the cost of one coke!

I lived once on a "county island". As such my property taxes were very small as the "services" provided were almost non existent. However, I could get fire service if I subscribed to it for something like $125/year. It was made VERY clear to me when I purchased the house that if I didn't "subscribe" there would be no fire response to my property.

Two Things to note:
1. This was not in the "wilderness" it was a subdivision
2. When you added the "fire fee" to the property taxes, it was still less than the property taxes paid by those in the surrounding areas where fire service was provided by the local municipality (they often contracted with the same fire service we subscribed to)

I do understand the position of the fire department, no lives were in danger. However, maybe a solution would have been to fight the fire and then send the homeowner the bill for the engines, labor, water etc. (their costs for fighting the fire). That would remove the issue of other people not paying the fee as the departments cautioned and the homes wouldn't be burning to the ground.

They probably did the owner a favor. It's pretty rare to salvage anything from a mobile home fire. Letting it burn leaves less of a mess.

I have to agree with you on this..

Maybe it's because we were born and raised in this area, but to sit there and watch it burn with out lifting a finger to help put it out is wrong on so many levels..

I would compare this to watching someone's daughter getting raped in a bar, because they didn't pay a "protection fee"..

I know you can say this doesn't compare because their weren't any lives at stake. THIS TIME!

Or what if I'm traveling through the area and my car catches fire? Would they not put it out because I haven't paid there extortion, I mean "protection fee"?

This almost seems like a story belonging to the book Fahrenheit 451.

So you are saying the mafia is still alive and well in the USA!

Pay your "protection fee" or else!

Now if I'm already paying property taxes, which the VFD's get money from, then I expect them to fight the fire..

But I guess extortion is alive an well..

Now if this is a Union fire company, then I know they are part of the Mob.

But it also shows that these people who work for the Fire Department don't care about anyone, but care more for money..

Now not knowing all the laws or situations I can only go by what is reported.. And since it states they didn't try to put the fire out because they didn't pay the extortion fee, I mean "protection fee", I can make a conclusion that they are greedy and no better then the Mafia..

So you are saying no property taxes were paid to the State, County, Township, Borough etc.. If this is the case then I might be able to agree, but since I believe that taxes were collected, I can't agree..

Also it depends on if they are Union or if they are volunteers..

Here in PA we pay property taxes in the Spring and Fall, one is for schools and the other for County/Township etc...

So when are you and others going to put a "protection fee" on police services?

For what it's worth, when the same thing happened last year, the firefighters' union condemned it.

It's possible to feel sorry for the people involved, who should have made it a priority to pay their fees, and the firemen, who probably did not like standing around.
But there are way, way too many people who think that no one or at least other people should pay the government and yet mouth off if they don't get what they want.
In regard to property taxes, you can bet that if the rural people were willing to have their taxes increased to insure fire services, it would have happened. Just paying some money doesn't mean paying for everything.

This is how things are in my parent's village. The year that my parents bought and began to renovate their house, the basement flooded and the fire department just showed up (no one called them) and pumped out the basement.

Ever since then, my parents cut a check to them each year as a donation (no subscription is needed) and always give to their various rummage sales and bake sales.

Although it sounds terrible that the firefighters watched the house burn, what else are they supposed to do? The homeowners didn't pay for their services. It costs gas to get there, the firefighters need equipment, etc... If they fought the fire for free then no one would actually pay for their subscription. If they tried to bill them after the fact for their services, there is no guarantee that they would get paid. Imagine if you could just opt not to insure your car until the moment that you get into a car accident...

Before fire departments became part of social services paid for by taxation and universally available to all in the encompassed area this was the situation for everyone. You paid directly to a fire department (and there were many) to protect your property or you created volunteer fire departments amongst your neighbours. How foolish not to pay $75 when there are no other services available.

Yep. What are the property taxes for? I always assumed it was to pay for the fire department and the police.

This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ VFD here and they are awesome.
They have been to my homestead 2 times in 15 yrs. and one time they had to call for a tow truck to get the fire truck out of the pasture.Never charged me a nickle .Once a year they stand on the corner of main street with a boot in their hand ,when you drive by ,toss a few bucks in.The bake sales ,rumage sales ,chilli suppers ............ Firemen ....God bless'em. :)

Many many times they had to get off their tractors this yr.and head to town , because in Iowa, we were so dry this fall ,the combines were lighting the corn feilds on fire.

If I recall, last year when it happened the family lost a beloved pet while the fire department stood and watched the house burn down.

Even back in those days the fire companies would usually put the fire out and charge you for it after the fact. If you failed to pay, they could put a lien on your house. You could lose your house either way, but at least if they fight the fire you'd have a chance to keep it.

You would have to be a cold hearted so and so to watch someones house burn.

The fire dept. showed up to make sure there was no loss of life, but if they get nothing but subscription money they (the homeowner) should not be entitled to something others have paid for.

In dry conditions, letting one house burn cause they didnt have a subscription for fire service, could mean several neighboring houses and good bit timber go up in smoke too.

Fire fighting service should be part of property taxes, just simpler that way than negotiating piecemeal with each property owner and then trying to steal the property through liens, if they dont subscribe.

...:smack


I guess you could say the home owners gambled and lost ...

Let this be a " lifes lesson " moment for those who have to pay a fee....PAY YOUR FEE....

Some would put a fire out and charge later or go into court for liens but many others would just let the house and neighbouring houses burn and if there were no houses on that street that subscribed to their service they would just not show up at all. Or they would just protect the neighbouring houses to the burning house if these people were subscribers. They were private enterprise so had no obligation to help.

I wonder if the fire departments let the houses burn because of legal questions. If the house is not legally under their protection and a fire fighter gets injured or killed would they be covered?

I agree with your analogy. This is disgusting behavior the whole thing leaves a sour taste in my mouth and a sense of injustice in the pit of my stomach. They were there, they could have helped, had the knowledge and experience to do so but they chose not to. I get the "pay" issue. But I dont think it is proper justification for them to allow someones house to burn to the ground while they watched. Im kind of sickened that some people do think it is okay.

Lets see how this works...The Smiths never paid theirs , why should we ?
Hey the Jones never paid theirs ,why should we ?
Hey Im told the Smiths and the jones never paid their fee ,why should we....

It is all about the money today. I don't know what the right answer is but for me it isn't standing buy and watching some ones home burn.

I agree with you. Even if that person didn't pay, these are suppose to be firemen. How can anyone, in good conscience, call themselves a public servant, a fireman, and allow someone's home to burn to the ground while they just stand there and watch. Losing a home to fire is very traumatic, and at this time of the year it makes it more so. I just don't understand how someone can be so hard hearted.

Then the county should raise the taxes to pay them. There may be some who can't afford to pay, so they should lose all they own?

Allen, what it is all about is taking responibilty for your actions ,or lack of actions.

VFD these are usually rural or very small town depts, not able to afford UNION or full time paid employes. I'm speaking for S/W Missouri but other areas also are the same. Our dept is not on our county tax bill we do have ambulance on it. The firemen here work a regular job and often have to clock out or leave their tractor in field when they respond to a fire call, they do not get paid like UNION or fulltime firemen. So we pay a service fee to help them cover expenses, they do bill non members insurance co. if a fire spreads from their property to someone else. In this area there are renters and others who feel the government should supply all they want at the tax payers expense. To many people in this world think they have all the right answers, but this is a big world.

Hmmmmm ........ maybe the county should ........a little late for that now ( in this case ) .

I thought I read in this thread that the fee was $75.00 bucks a year.The link posted in the op will not open for me so I dont know.If thats the case ..... meh.

[QUOTE=glenn amolenaar;5556119]VFD The firemen here work a regular job and often have to clock out or leave their tractor in field when they respond to a fire call, they do not get paid QUOTE]

Yup same here.........God bless them.
:)


EDITED TO ADD : Or leave their softball game, kids school programes ,