Here We Go Again...Another House Allowed To Burn

[Zargon]

Firefighting is not an Insurance.

Those people have no right to call themselves Firemen.

They are a disgrace to an Institution.

spoken like someone who has no idea how things really work.



just their radio channel probably costs them a quarter mil annually, if not 2-3 times that

 

[mattpegher]

Often rural communities lack the ability to fund what many consider necessities. I live in rural New Jersey (yes there are rural parts to NJ). Often the fire and ambulance squads are volunteer. However the ambulances and facilities have to be funded. Some more loosely populated areas cannot afford their own units. AFAIK there arent any municipalities that donot collect for fire services.

My property taxes = $24,000/year.
for that I get public schools, police dept, fire service (w/ volunteers), road services, government services.
I have septic system and pay seperate for waste management and water. Ambulance services are paid by insurance (but at 3x the cost to cover the freeloaders)
Usual utilities seperate.

Just like healthcare it just is nieve to think that it can be had without expense. You either pay privately or you include the expense in taxes. I am not sure about the numbers but I wonder if all those statistics on per capita spending includes financing costs in america, since 33cents out of every dollar is spent on financing. If Hal's statistic on per capita costs dont consider that then its just another comparison of apples and oranges.

 

[alkemyst]

Let's do the math.

If everyone in the county or town of say 10,000 people paid the $75/year, that's $750k to support the fire department. If the fire department responds to 3 fires each year for this same town, each incident would have to be billed at $250k for the same level of services.

Do you really think people living in a mobile home will pay $250k to put out a fire in their $10k home?

only 3 responses is very very very conservative. It's not unusual to have the fire department already out on a call when a second call comes in even in smaller towns.

Also you pay a fire department to be READY to respond rather than just assembling when there is an issue.

 

[Svnla]

Let see, the owner(s) of the place:

1. Live in the rural area for a particular reason.
2. Did not pay the $75 annual fee or $6.25/month or less than 1 quarter a day.
3. House burned down.
4. Too bad owner(s), pay the fee or live in the city/town area and pay property tax to support fire/police/necessities.

 

[DCal430]

Something similar happen in California a year or two ago. There was a small island, with a community on it. A few dozen or so homes I believe on the island. The island has a large amount of vegetation and wildlife, and a forest fire was started on the island. Apparently there is no fire service for the island and the state and other local areas refused to help them. A bunch of homes burned down, and scores of plant and animal life was killed. Basically it burned for days and days, and push tons of pollution into the air. The state said who cares, let the animals die, let the homes burn, and let the air be polluted.

Remember this is California.

 

[MrX8503]

Firefighting is not an Insurance.

Those people have no right to call themselves Firemen.

They are a disgrace to an Institution.

You'd be singing a different tune if your taxes were raised to cover the costs of that burning home. The homeowners opted out. Its their fault.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Something similar happen in California a year or two ago. There was a small island, with a community on it. A few dozen or so homes I believe on the island. The island has a large amount of vegetation and wildlife, and a forest fire was started on the island. Apparently there is no fire service for the island and the state and other local areas refused to help them. A bunch of homes burned down, and scores of plant and animal life was killed. Basically it burned for days and days, and push tons of pollution into the air. The state said who cares, let the animals die, let the homes burn, and let the air be polluted.

Remember this is California.

http://report-on-conditions.blogspot.com/2010/07/island.html

The fire was located on Bradford Island, which is located in the Sacramento Delta. Bradford Island does not lie within the boundaries of any fire department or fire district and therefore is not protected. Surrounding fire districts will respond to the island if there is a credible threat to life safety. Assessments of the fire were made by surrounding fire districts and it was determined that there was no significant risk to life. Therefore, no one came.

Property owners on Bradford Island have in the past voted down the opportunity to be protected by a neighboring fire district. They didn't want to pay for it. As a result, they are not protected. They don't have any police protection either.

 

[alkemyst]

It's like the rednecks in our acreage here that have Erin Bracovich representing them. 10 years+ ago and up until recently they wanted no city water, lights, roads, etc.

Now they are attacking the angle that the city should have provided them treated water after believing they are more than likely to develop brain cancer.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Embarrassing is what it is.

I would think that home insurance companies would want to put a stop to this practice asap in order to minimize their losses. They have a powerful lobby, so they should be able to make it happen.

Does a doctor in an emergency room not try to save your life if you're having a heart attack because you didn't pay your health insurance? No, they save your life, then send you the entire bill.

Fire protection should work the same way. Didn't pay your annual due? They should stilll put out the fire, then bill you for the service, say $1000. If it's not paid, it can go on a lien against the property, same as if you didn't pay the property taxes or other assessments. The house couldn't be sold without paying off the lien, so they'd get their money sooner or later.

1) Insurance companies might have a stipulation about having fire fighting service. No service due to unpaid fees -> No insurance payout. I don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me.

2) Nobody's life was at stake, so your doctor example isn't really a valid comparison. The firefighters WOULD have intervened had someone's life been in danger (which also would be why they showed up in the first place I would suspect), but since everyone was OK, well, that's it.

The homeowners were stupid, played the lottery, and lost it all.

 

[hdfxst]

the only thing i would worry about is the ins.company and what kind of clause they have on this.i wouldn't be surprised if they say the fire department could have saved 30 percent of the house so the payout is 30% less.my house and the contents are insured to the hilt,so if it ever catches on fire i would rather it burn to the ground.

 

[jlee]

the only thing i would worry about is the ins.company and what kind of clause they have on this.i wouldn't be surprised if they say the fire department could have saved 30 percent of the house so the payout is 30% less.my house and the contents are insured to the hilt,so if it ever catches on fire i would rather it burn to the ground.

It's a mobile home, dude - I'd be surprised if it was not a total loss even if they did intervene.

 

[Powermoloch]

TLDR:

Pay your dues

 

[ultimatebob]

Heh... Maybe they should have a $5,000 "emergency fee" for non paying residents whom have the sudden need for fire service. Put a credit card reader on those trucks, and make a profit center out of it!