No it wouldn't and it doesn't.
How about hooray for supplying a typographically case-sensitive link to an historical context pertinent to the OP?
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$75 or we'll let your house burn down
- Thread starter capnsandwich
- Start date
No it wouldn't and it doesn't.
How about hooray for supplying a typographically case-sensitive link to an historical context pertinent to the OP?
I mean yea I know, doing an interview with Olbermann is like, well never mind, I don't need any more infraction points.
What I was saying though is that from the few clips I've seen about it, the man and his wife weren't like "Those God Damned evil bastard child eating firefighters. So what I didn't pay anything, they should have saved my ass from being stupid" but more of like "I didn't pay the fee, I thought they'd put it out but I guess I was wrong" sort of vibe I got from him.
In my mind, this is the only reasonable exception to the " You no pay your fire bill, your house burn down" rule. Put the fire out, then make them pay for the TOTAL cost of the operation. I don't know how it works in S. Fulton Tennessee, but around here if the county has to mow your yard because you let it become a nuisance, they charge you about $400. So the fire operation should be in the neighborhood of say, 6 grand.
I think if the fire department had known there were people inside, they would have probably tried to save them. At least I'd like to believe that.
If you read the story I linked to a couple of posts up, the people say they forgot to pay the bill. The rest of that little story is designed to generate sympathy for the homeowners and scorn for the fire department. You should read it. Remember, like I said, it turns out they were lying when they said they "Forgot" to pay the bill.
I used to think the same a while ago man, but then I got fed up of dealing with asshat's that couldn't be or were not interested in being 'helped', $75 a year for peace of mind for your family, house, possession's, where's this guy coming from?
Probably would have been a better way to handle it.
But like I said before, then we would have a news story with a guy saying "Fire Department extortion, put out my house without asking and then tell me I have to pay 6 grand".
I guess most all of you live in cities or metro areas and pay a lot in taxes for services. Our State does not have a sales tax.
My wife and I live in a rural community four miles outside of a small town. Since we live in the county, we pay a lot lower in taxes than people in the city pay.
Some of the difference is water, fire and city police. We don't pay for water, we have our own well. We aren't taxed for city services and don't receive them, though we are for county services like the Sheriff, which we pay through our property tax.
There is a rural two truck fire company, 2 miles away, that we contract with for $126 per year. There is also a volunteer fire dept for those living way out in the county, but those volunteers are basically protecting their own houses. (Like a co-op, they band together to protect each other. They ARE the volunteers)
The only way our rural fire dept can meet their costs is to divide them among all their subscribers, knowing they will only have to put out a small number of their 'clients' houses in any given year. This guy new how his rural dept worked and chose otherwise. I have zero sympathy. My annual cost is way lower that the taxes the city charges for fire services. Everyone pays to play one way or another. And if you don't, that's on you.
Someday, the city will annex the area I live and my taxes will go way up to pay for those cities services. For the time being I am quite happy to pay as little as I do for fire protection. And their response time is excellent.
My wife and I live in a rural community four miles outside of a small town. Since we live in the county, we pay a lot lower in taxes than people in the city pay.
Some of the difference is water, fire and city police. We don't pay for water, we have our own well. We aren't taxed for city services and don't receive them, though we are for county services like the Sheriff, which we pay through our property tax.
There is a rural two truck fire company, 2 miles away, that we contract with for $126 per year. There is also a volunteer fire dept for those living way out in the county, but those volunteers are basically protecting their own houses. (Like a co-op, they band together to protect each other. They ARE the volunteers)
The only way our rural fire dept can meet their costs is to divide them among all their subscribers, knowing they will only have to put out a small number of their 'clients' houses in any given year. This guy new how his rural dept worked and chose otherwise. I have zero sympathy. My annual cost is way lower that the taxes the city charges for fire services. Everyone pays to play one way or another. And if you don't, that's on you.
Someday, the city will annex the area I live and my taxes will go way up to pay for those cities services. For the time being I am quite happy to pay as little as I do for fire protection. And their response time is excellent.
Don't some cities charge for emergency services (after the call?) Around here, if your house is on fire, you get all kind of responders from outying communities. They should have put the fire out and then sent them a bill.
Right I mean I got that, but I didn't get anything at all from that article where it seemed like the family was trying to demonize the firefighters
I know an ambulance ride here in Tampa is like $300.
Also, Scott1 is exactly dead on right. Living in the country creates a VERY different dynamic than living in the City, something that folks who spend all, or at least most of their time don't really understand very well.
True, but Oregon does have a 9% state income tax, one of the highest rates in the U.S. Not completely relevant, I just found that out this week in the course of my job.
Maybe demonize is a little strong, but they would have a hard time generating any sympathy if they didn't play up the " Mean-spirited, cold heartedness" of the fire department's reaction, right?
We must have read two different articles, cause the one you linked (insurance journal) didn't give me that vibe in the least. The woman interviewed said she wasn't mad at the firefighters, and that they couldn't accept money from other people.
It's a locality basis, and some places do it different than others. But, in this case, the dude refused to pay twice, and they already put it out for free once.
