Firefighters refuse to put out housefire

[Task Force]

Hmm, would really sucked if it would have spread to the next house.

[Bilge_Rat]

the linked story says the homeowner "forgot" to pay the $75 fee, not refused to pay it.

Here the perceived remedy, namely letting the house burn and the owner suffering ten of thousands of dollars of damages is totally out of proportion to the $75 fee.

I smell a huge lawsuit...

[razark]

Originally Posted by Bilge_Rat

the linked story says the homeowner "forgot" to pay the $75 fee, not refused to pay it.

If it was me, I'd be saying I "forgot" as well...

It's horrible what happened, but if I forget to pay my insurance, or my electric bill, or my rent, there are consequences.

There should be some recourse for a situation like this. However, that solution shouldn't encourage people to not pay until their house is actually on fire.

Edit:

Originally Posted by Takeda Shingen

EDIT: It is not as though any money was saved by not acting. The fire department arrived on the scene, and the department staff would then be paid accordingly. The trucks were used, fuel was burned. This was just spite.

It seems the fire department did not respond until a paying customer called. So if the second call had not come in, the trucks and fuel would have been unused.

[Takeda Shingen]

Originally Posted by razark

It seems the fire department did not respond until a paying customer called. So if the second call had not come in, the trucks and fuel would have been unused.

Oh. Well then it's all good.

[GoldenRivet]

I think so far everyone's comments have been dead on accurate.

1. it was chickenchit of the fire department to protect one home and watch another burn.

2. The guy should have paid the $75. For God's sake is only $75! I know of a lot of people out there who say they cant afford to pay the ____ bill and then they go get a $60 manicure and pedicure or they go and finance new $2400 wheels for their car or whatever. this guy should have known better.

Im thankful for Volunteer Fire Departments here in the rural areas of Texas such as where i grew up.

We have about 2 all volunteer fire departments within 3-5 miles of my childhood home.

they have responded to our home twice on false alarms when i was a kid.

both times i took notice of the fact that they were:

polite and courteous

every bit as well equipped as a city funded fire department

every bit as professional and quick to respond as a city funded fire department

As many of you know i had a real house fire in '09. It is a very frightening thing to experience, and if the fire department had been delayed by another 3 to 5 minutes... i probably would have lost nearly everything. When you have a house fire... the feeling is indescribable - its the most powerless and probably the most confused i have ever felt in my life.

Powerless because there is really little you can do about a house fire once it grows past a certain point - even if you have a good fire extinguisher.

confused - as in my case - because you wake up at 4 or 5 am and wonder why your house is on fire.

sadly for the guy now he is pretty much homeless. but i promise you he has learned not to take fire protection for granted.