The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire...

Totally strange concept to me having a private fire department. I wonder if they have the same rights as a regular fire department, like if you call them do they take over your property or can you kick them off your property at will in the middle of the fire. With a typical government run fire department, you lose all your rights to your property once they have been called. They can have you arrested if you interfere. Same with the police, once you have called them, they take over the situation and you can't do anything to make them leave until they are ready.

I would think that if the guy didn't pay the $75, he wouldn't pay a bill submitted to him either.

In the other discussion I had brought up the pay for use idea applied to education for our kids. If you have kids you pay, if not you don't. That got a lot of people riled up...LOL!

Eric,
I wonder if your neighbor is related to this guy?   

were talking about 75 bucks, why would you even question paying for a service, i would bet if this was down in the ghetto you wouldn't give 2 ***************s...its a white guy trying to fck the system. if he was my neighbor and i knew he was uninsured, and no fire service, i would be on his ass. and you would be pissed off if it caught your Tundra in the drive on fire and finding out that your insurance company wont cover it because it wasn't your fire that burned it.
Am i profiling, yes, he is a white piece of trash that gambles, and when i say gambles, he went with the odds and didn't think he would ever need the service...I get angry from stupidity

good answer

Riley wrote: When it's legal for the fire department, police department, armed forces, etc. to choose who and who not they'll protect, we're in big trouble.

Bruce,
At least they are getting paid via or taxes!

When it's legal for the fire department, police department, armed forces, etc. to choose who and who not they'll protect, we're in big trouble.

eric lavine wrote: ...obviously if there was a kid trapped the firefighters would have gotten the kid out, its not about safety, its about some old codger being an *************** and getting what he deserves.

and once the kid was out they would go back to watching it burn? Sounds like you know this guy.

and to boot, this is a guy that if he had insurance, would squeeze every last nickel from them....he's a taker, not a giver

Riley wrote: You guys are cruel. The guy may have been a cheap b**tard, but for the fire department to watch his house burn down over $75.00? That's disgusting.

Is it much different than taking a guys house for back taxes?

This sounds like a private business, offering service where none existed before in the form of firefighting insurance, without them the guys only option would have been to watch it burn. He had the option to pay and chose to take the risk. You can't get life insurance after you are already dead, Or car insurance after the accident, and you can not buy insurance for cancer after you are diagnosed.....ahh nevermind, I guess were gonna do that. If people know that they will get service without paying no one would pay, and then this buisness would cease to exist. Then everyone in the area would have to sit and watch their houses burn down. There is also the problem with a company accessing private property without a contract. Personally If I ran the company I would fight uninsured fires with the owners permission but at an outragous price. Maybe $10,000 per 1000 msq feet of house, you could still get some attention without having to completely enrage the do gooders and soft of heart.

Riley wrote: Pete, what kind of fire department do they have up where you built your "shop"? If it's volunteer, I hope you get your wallet out when they come around find raising.

Bruce,
The department is staffed by about 1/4 full time and 3/4 volunteer. It's fully funded via the property taxes. Fund raising? Yes, if I'm up there when they hold the annual firemen's picnic, I make sure I go in town and get a couple of their brats and of course several of their beers!

If fire services were a pay on your own system, I'd be paying it just like I do for the non tax paid garbage disposal.

You guys are cruel. The guy may have been a cheap b**tard, but for the fire department to watch his house burn down over $75.00? That's disgusting. Pete, what kind of fire department do they have up where you built your "shop"? If it's volunteer, I hope you get your wallet out when they come around fund raising.

They sound like mercenaries, not firemen.

I brought it up in a different discussion about this subject, but I'm more of a fan of pay for use then using tax revenue. I'd rather pay a fee for fire protection, ambulance service, just about anything. I'm a little biased on the toll road side of things because I work in the industry, but I like that idea versus publicly (tax) funded roads. I'd be all for plan like this for just about anything we could apply it to.

I think this guy go a much better understanding of the idea of "accountability and personal responsibility".

MI-nick wrote: if they put out his fire, next year NO ONE would pay the $75 fee and there would be no fire dept. harsh point, but one that needed to be made in my opinion...

   Exactly. Play stupid games,win stupid prizes.

   Mike