SOUTH FULTON, Tenn. -- Firefighters stood by and watched a Tennessee house burn to the ground earlier this week because the homeowners didn't pay the annual subscription fee for fire service.
"You could look out my mom's trailer and see the trucks sitting at a distance," Vicky Bell, the homeowner, said.
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For Bell, that sight was almost as disturbing as the fire itself.
"We just wished we could've gotten more out," she said.
It's the second time in two years firefighters in the area have watched a house burn because of unpaid fees. Last year, Gene Cranick of Obion County and his family lost all of their possessions in a house fire, along with three dogs and a cat, because the fire fee wasn't paid.
People in the city of South Fulton have fire protection, but those in the surrounding county do not unless they pay a $75 annual fee.
The city makes no exceptions.
"There's no way to go to every fire and be able to keep up the manpower, the equipment, and just the funding for the fire department," said South Fulton Mayor David Crocker.
Crocker said that by now, everyone should know about the city's fire policy.
"After the last situation, I would hope that everybody would be well aware of the rural fire fees, this time," he said.
In a nearby county, rural homeowners can purchase a $110 subscription to cover fires, but they can also pay on the spot for fire protection: $2,200 for the first two hours firefighters are on the scene and $1,100 for each additional hour, according to dailytimes.com.
Bell and her boyfriend said they were aware of the policy, but thought a fire would never happen to them.
The city has received a lot of criticism over its policy, but has refused to change it.
I don't know why people get so upset about this. If I didn't pay for my auto insurance, and I wrecked my car then why should I be upset that I don't get the service I DIDN'T pay for????
Oh, and in another article, I believe the owners said they knew about the fee, they just "didn't think it would happen to them..."......
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"A society that puts equality ... ahead of freedom will end up with neither equality nor freedom."
Wouldn't it be easier to just add the fee to the property taxes, like they do in most of the country. Then every property would have it, and it should be lower due to it being paid for every property.
Wouldn't it be easier to just add the fee to the property taxes, like they do in most of the country. Then every property would have it, and it should be lower.
I am guessing that the rural areas that sometimes see this type of setup have to partner with nearby more dense areas. I don't know the specifics but if there is a "fee" instead, then pay it! It just isn't automatic like a tax. That is really the only difference.
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"A society that puts equality ... ahead of freedom will end up with neither equality nor freedom."
I'm sure many people that are anti obamacare would take issue with this, but I'm not quite sure why, and the fire department is even more fair, pay the fee and you are covered, instead of a healthcare type system of pay the fee and we might pay some of the costs if we can't weasel out of coverage after the fact if we even cover you in the first place, and you appropriately list ever possible fire risk in your home and ever y fire risk every family member has ever been involved in (exact dates required)
how can the fire department offer fire protection without such extensive information, the healthcare companies absolutely need that kind of information, This FireCare version of ObamaCare needs to end, why should I subsidize the additional risk that my neighbor has for having candles and a fireplace, I demand an end to this socialistic fire department!
(I hope people got the sarcasm mixed with reality there)
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikecu
Wouldn't it be easier to just add the fee to the property taxes, like they do in most of the country. Then every property would have it, and it should be lower.
I'm sure many people that are anti obamacare would take issue with this, but I'm not quite sure why, and the fire department is even more fair, pay the fee and you are covered, instead of a healthcare type system of pay the fee and we might pay some of the costs if we can't weasel out of coverage after the fact if we even cover you in the first place, and you appropriately list ever possible fire risk in your home and ever y fire risk every family member has ever been involved in (exact dates required)
how can the fire department offer fire protection without such extensive information, the healthcare companies absolutely need that kind of information, This FireCare version of ObamaCare needs to end, why should I subsidize the additional risk that my neighbor has for having candles and a fireplace, I demand an end to this socialistic fire department!
(I hope people got the sarcasm mixed with reality there)
take it you are a democrat?
Not a chance!
I just don't think that a municipal service should be set up with a separate bill from all of the other services.
Could you imagine what it would cost to send a child to school if only the current users paid it instead of being built in to your property tax bill?
Here in Missouri we have volunteer fire depts in most of the rural areas. The city helps them on big fires and they help the city on big fires in town. Most of them get grants and have modern up to date equpment.
I just don't think that a municipal service should be set up with a separate bill from all of the other services.
Could you imagine what it would cost to send a child to school if only the current users paid it instead of being built in to your property tax bill?
I'll bet that the user would pay less to a private school than "we" pay for each user to a public school. There might be some folks out there whose property tax bill could pay for a child to go to a private school!
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"A society that puts equality ... ahead of freedom will end up with neither equality nor freedom."
The question always seems to come down to, does one bit of socialism justify another? If so its growth is inevitable.
Another question that could be asked: money or morals? That answer is self evident.
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"Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal. Never forget that everything the Founding Fathers did was not." Martin Luther King, Jr.
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