watched as a house burned to the ground? I’d guess there was a lawsuit, but I never heard anything else about it. The family pets also died in the fire.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/04/firefighters-watch-as-hom_n_750272.html
Why would there be a lawsuit? It was a pay to protect type of scenario, with the Cranicks choosing to opt out.
I imagine what became of it is that Cranick sorely regretted not having paid the fee, and others in the area made darn sure that their payment was up to date. Lawsuit? No chance of winning.
It happened again last December.
Just last month the city voted to let the fire department put out fireseven if the owners hadn’t paid the annual fee.
The charge is $3,500.
Cranicks likely regretted it both the first and second time it happened to them.
Which is still charged even if the department can’t get out to your home fast enough to save any of your possessions.
Let’s all keep an eye out for the next brainiac who’s going to complain about the charge when the fire department “didn’t do anything”.
Thanks. That’s a reasonable solution, and one that I noted should be the case, when it happened. If there is a fire, and the homeowner’s hadn’t paid the fee, then put out the fire, save the family and the pets and their property, and send them a bill. If they don’t pay the bill, place a lien on the property.
Firefighters, by the nature of their department, should save property and lives, even lives of pets. It’s the ethical thing to do. Should a cop call into the dispatcher and check a database to determine if a taxpayer had paid his local taxes before the cop will save the guy from being accosted by some mugger? And yes, I fully realize that taxes and a fee for those out of a city or town limit is some different.
Thanks for the link. Good for the municipal govt to make the needed changes.
that story states that the Cranicks forgot to pay the fee. that was the second fire they had without paying the fee. from news at the time it seemed the government entity sent out multiple mailings and phone calls warning people that they would have no fire service after a date if they didn’t pay the fee. it seems it would be hard to forget.
the $3500 charge after the fact may work for some. if people won’t pay $75 before the fact they might not pay $3500 after considering that is in addition to the loss caused by the fire. the government would then have to take civil court action to attempt recover costs. if enough costs aren’t paid it may end the availability of fire protection outside of taxed areas.
It happened to the same family TWICE?
Now the “fee” is starting to sound like* protection money.*
But I thought fire protection was included in your taxes. (?)
It is if you’re in South Fulton. If you’re outside the city limits - as these folks were - then the South Fulton FD will still respond if you’ve paid the $75 fee. Otherwise, South Fulton taxpayers are subsidizing firefighting efforts outside their city for nothing.
(Personally, I think the county should have made a deal as a whole for South Fulton to provide fire services. Maybe they tried and county taxpayers didn’t go for it.)
they were outside the taxing boundary of the government body that provides the fire service. that government body made the fire protection to nearby areas outside of the taxing district if you paid a fee. they were in a rural area of the county and the fire protection was provided by the town to those who lived in the town and were taxed and certain nearby areas outside of the town if you paid a fee in advance.
that is not uncommon in rural areas for a township (often a square 6 miles on a side) to not provide services such as garbage, fire, ambulance because of cost. they might pay for a neighboring township or a village for these on a fee paying basis.
That was the original solution. It didn’t work (and probably won’t work now). People simply didn’t pay after the fire was put out, either because they saw no need or they don’t have a home and have other needs for the money. They ended the arrangement after being stiffed by a few homeowners and now are bringing it back. Let’s see how long it lasts this time.
Here’s a plan (warning pdf) that was presented to Obion County in 2009 to provide fire service for the county. This report was from 2008, so nobody can say they weren’t warned.
Here are a couple of interesting highlights.
1)County officials and taxpayers have fiddled around with the issue of fire protection for 25 years now.
2)If the local fire departments couldn’t collect when they charged $500 per call, who thinks they’ll collect $3,500 per call?
Some serious questions:
Assuming I lived in such a jurisdiction…and assume I have no pets or family members or even live in the house so life or limb are not issues:
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If I don’t pay the annual fee and the fire department attempts to put out a fire at my home while I am away, what legal obligation do I have to pay any fee then? There is no contract.
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If I have insurance, why bother paying an annual fee or a service call? Why not just let the place burn down and let the insurance company pay for another house?
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Anyone have any statistics on the efficiency of fire-fighting for a typical suburban home? …that is…what percent of home fires are a total loss, what percent of home’s value are typically saved by a fire department? Is paying an annual fee a good investment?
Note: This isn’t a request for legal advice, blah, blah. Given that this system is an opt-in system, one naturally needs to know the pro’s and con’s of paying the annual fee…you know, risks and rewards and all that; it’s just another consumer decision.
How much is the insurance going to cost if you don’t have fire protection? I live in a city, and when I’ve bought insurance, the company wants to know how many feet my house is from the fire hydrant. If there’s an optional service you can get, will the insurance cover a fire when you’ve opted out of the service?
I think the lien is the problem. If the property taxes aren’t paid on a home in South Fulton , then a lien can be placed on the property for failure to pay taxes. But how can South Fulton place a lien on a home outside of South Fulton because the homeowner didn’t pay a non-required fee, and possibly didn’t ever agree to pay a fee ?
The best solution would be for the county to pay the various town’city fire departments to provide the service- except the county didn’t go for it. I assume because it would have increased county taxes
And, if you’re around when the house burns and are on record as telling the firefighters to not bother, I’m pretty sure your insurance company will have other issues with you.
We live in a rural location a 15 minute drive outside of “town”. The cost of fire insurance is based, in part, on the availability of a fire department.
Although, realistically, our house would be destroyed in a fire (distance plus lack of hydrants), we donate yearly to our local volunteer department. Mostly we do this out of “civic pride” I guess.