Again with the Tennessee County $75 firefighter fee

[IDrinkaRum]

Remember this thread about a man whose house burned down because he didn't pay the $75 fee for the firefighters?

Seems another family lost their house because they didn't pay the fee, and they live in the SAME COUNTY as the other man.

For his part, Mayor Crocker stressed that the city's firefighters will help people in danger, even those who haven't paid the fee. "After the last situation, I would hope that everybody would be well aware of the rural fire fees, this time," Crocker said.

Maybe the county needs to learn that they can't keep letting this happen and drop the $75 fee?

[Andara Bledin]

It's the fire department that charges the fee, and the reason they do that is because the people live outside the city and pay no taxes to cover things like, you know, paying for the fire department.

There was a vote held not too long before the last one, and the people outside the city decided they liked the fee over taxes and chose to keep it how it was.

You let your car insurance lapse and get into an accident, you're screwed. You let your fire department fee lapse and your house catches fire, you're screwed.

Pay your bills and then if there's a problem, you have a safety net.

Honestly, without more details, there's not much to be said here other than pay your bills or move into the city and pay taxes instead.

^-.-^

[RecoveringKinkoid]

This actually happened to my family when I was a teenager.

Except that it wasn't anyone's house. There was a forest fire that was burning a whole bunch of people's properties.

I don't know who paid what as far as fees or taxes go. No clue. I was a kid and that was a very long time ago.

But what happened was this: it was a big, rapidly spreading forest fire. The fire department showed up and somehow missed the cloud of roiling black smoke belching out of the woods, driving past several times. They showed up eventually, then went up to some of my uncles who were fighting said fair and started asking who was going to pay them to put out the fire.

I don't know what exactly got said, but I think I can safely paraphrase it by saying some uncle or other said something along the lines of "go fuck yourself."

We put out the fire ourselves. I actually had melted soles on my sneakers after that.

But seriously,

[AdminAssistant]

Dad told me that a few weeks back, one of the local cotton gins had a fire. He wasn't sure how it started, but it started in the stockpile of gin trash* that they hadn't sold off yet. Anyway, volunteer fire engines and pump trucks came from every department within an hour's drive. Every farmer with a sizable water wagon was hauling in water. Every nearby gin sent over their module trucks to move modules out of the way. They spent all day containing the main fire while putting out all of the modules that were catching fire (because they're essentially packed cotton, modules have to be extinguished using a particular mix of soapy water). Oh, and making sure none of the nearby houses caught fire. Farm insurance will cover the loss of property, of course (to the tune of 1200 bales of cotton) but there was no talk of fees or taxes or payment of any kind for the trucks, labor, or water.

All that to say, I'm really glad my hometown has maintained that system. :/ One of the nearby towns instituted a fee before they'd put out a fire. It didn't last long before the other departments told them they could fuck off.

I said it last time, and I'll say it again. A big thing on fire is a threat to public safety if there is anything remotely flammable near it. The county needs to pull its head out of its ass and provide basic public safety services to all residents.

*The icky mix of leaves, stems, fibers, and all kinds of gunk that's pulled out of the cotton. Gins sell it off for people to use as fertilizer, cow feed, you name it.

[Andara Bledin]

In this article at Kentucky.com, Bell admits that she understood about the fee and chose not to pay because "she and her boyfriend did not think they would ever be victims of a fire."

She thinks a space heater started the fire. The couple has no insurance.

I suspect this will all be a very painful learning experience for them both.

^-.-^

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

It's the fire department that charges the fee, and the reason they do that is because the people live outside the city and pay no taxes to cover things like, you know, paying for the fire department.

And with things like the vehicle maintenance and the fuel to get to these rural areas (these things suck gas faster than I can drain a can of Dr. Pepper), the fire department needs to find some way to pay for it all and...

There was a vote held not too long before the last one, and the people outside the city decided they liked the fee over taxes and chose to keep it how it was.

...and if you as a community decide that the fees are better than the tax increase, then you should @#$%ing well be ready to pay for the services that you may want to get.

You let your car insurance lapse and get into an accident, you're screwed. You let your fire department fee lapse and your house catches fire, you're screwed.

In the aftermath of Irene we've heard that a lot. People complaining that since they dropped their homeowner/renters insurance that it is *so unfair* that they don't get any coverage for the tree going though their house.

To me it's simple. You want coverage, you pay for coverage. You don't want to pay for it...then you have no reasonable expectation to get that sort of service.

Honestly, without more details, there's not much to be said here other than pay your bills or move into the city and pay taxes instead.

*or*

Since they aren't part of the city then they should consider setting up their own fire department.

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

In this article at Kentucky.com, Bell admits that she understood about the fee and chose not to pay because "she and her boyfriend did not think they would ever be victims of a fire."

Well then that's a clear cut case of their stupidity. Next time they're going to have to consider what is more costly in the long run. Paying the fee or watching everything burn into a pile of ash and charcoal.

[Andara Bledin]

Paying the fee or watching everything burn into a pile of ash and charcoal.

To be honest, I'm not sure how much the fire department hosing the mess down might have helped. It was an older mobile home, and those tend to burn to the ground frighteningly fast. A fire extinguisher or two might have been more effective; stop the fire before it got out of control.

^-.-^

[HYHYBT]

Yeah, a mobile home, by the time they got there there'd be nothing to save. Not even a chimney

[Greenday]

The couple has no insurance.

Let's say they did have insurance. Would they cover it since it was negligence not to have paid the firefighter fee?

[guywithashovel]

It's probably better to just have the fee as part of the property tax, or something similar to that.

Unfortunately, we have some people in this country who just won't accept that if you want adequate police and fire protection and other public services, you need to pay for them.

[Andara Bledin]

Let's say they did have insurance. Would they cover it since it was negligence not to have paid the firefighter fee?

That's difficult to say, as even having firefighters respond might not have made a difference. However, the whole letting a space heater start the fire might be enough to give the insurer a way to refuse paying out.

It's probably better to just have the fee as part of the property tax, or something similar to that.

Maybe. But the county voted to keep it how it is rather than have a county-wide tax to cover fire services.

The people in the cities already pay and already have services, and most of those outside the cities get free services (basically, those in the cities get to pay for those out of the cities, which isn't really fair, either) while the rest have fees they can opt to pay to be covered or not pay and take their chances.

Honestly, the only people who might benefit from such a system are the fire departments and cities where they're giving their services away to unincorporated county residents and people who have to be forced to be responsible.

^-.-^

[HYHYBT]

However, the whole letting a space heater start the fire might be enough to give the insurer a way to refuse paying out.

I've never had to try to make a fire insurance claim (knock on wood), but if that is a grounds to deny payment, would it not at least depend on the circumstances?

If I were in charge of this fire department, their next announcement would be "we're sick of the county causing us all this negative publicity. We're not doing this anymore. The county has until (date) either to pay us to cover everybody or else to set up their own fire department; no more of this one-on-one business."

[RedRoseSpiral]

The fee doesn't bother me about this. What bothers me is that he fire station is going on about how much money they spend going out to these rural areas to put out fires when they went out to this fire. If you're there, why not try to put the fucking fire out instead of standing around and watching it burn? They were there and there was no reason not to put the fire out. If you're not going to don't bother showing up. That's just insult to injury. "Oh hey, I totally have everything necessary to help out with this, but I'm just going to stand over here and watch."

[Canarr]

That would mean the firetrucks aren't leaving the station until they've verified that the burning building belongs to someone who has paid the fee. Personally, if my house were burning, I'd much prefer them already being en route, and then doing nothing when they arrive, than to have them sitting on their asses in the station until someone's found the invoice that proves I paid the fee. By then, I probably would not need them anymore, anyway.

But, yeah: what HYHYBT says. If I were in that fire department's shoes, I'd nix it with the fee and give the county the choice of either paying me for every resident in their county, or open their own fire department.