CincyInDC Posted December 7, 2011 Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 [url="http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/tennessee-family-home-burns-while-firefighters-watch-191241763.html"]http://news.yahoo.co...-191241763.html[/url] [quote] [b] Tennessee family home burns while firefighters watch[/b] A Tennessee couple [url="http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/SIG=159h2h2ro/EXP=1324484796/**http%3A//hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_HOME_LEFT_TO_BURN%3FSITE=AP%26%2338;SECTION=HOME%26%2338;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT%26%2338;CTIME=2011-12-06-13-23-49"]helplessly watched their home burn to the ground, along with all of their possessions,[/url] because they did not pay a $75 annual fee to the local fire department. Vicky Bell told [url="http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/SIG=13h3t5uni/EXP=1324484796/**http%3A//www.wpsdlocal6.com/news/local/Home-burns-while-firefighters-watch-again-135069773.html"]the NBC affiliate WPSD-TV[/url] that she called 911 when her mobile home in Obion County caught fire. Firefighters arrived on the scene but as the fire raged, they simply stood by and did nothing. "In an emergency, the first thing you think of, 'Call 9-1-1," homeowner Bell said. However, Bell and her husband were forced to walk into the burning home in an attempt to retrieve their own belongings. "You could look out my mom's trailer and see the trucks sitting at a distance," Bell said. "We just wished we could've gotten more out." South Fulton Mayor David Crocker defended the fire department, saying that if firefighters responded to non-subscribers, no one would have an incentive to pay the fee. Residents in the city of South Fulton receive the service automatically, but it is not extended to those living in the greater county-wide area. "There's no way to go to every fire and keep up the manpower, the equipment, and just the funding for the fire department," Crocker said. The South Fulton policy produced precisely the same nightmare scenario last year, when homeowner Gene Cranick--who had likewise failed to pay the $75 annual fee for rural Obion County residents--saw his house engulfed by flames as South Fulton firefighter watched close by. That incident [url="http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/upshot/rural-tennessee-fire-sparks-conservative-ideological-debate.html"]sparked a debate[/url] among conservative pundits over the limits of fee-for-service approaches to government. For his part, Mayor Crocker stressed that the city's firefighters will help people in danger, even those who haven't paid the fee. "After the last situation, I would hope that everybody would be well aware of the rural fire fees, this time," Crocker said. [/quote] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Numbers| Posted December 7, 2011 Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 Not sure why the fire fee is not included in "other" taxes unless Fulton is one of those places where there are more trailers than homes and/or more renters than owners... Somehow there seems to be a general answer to this issue but apparently the Mayor is not willing or unable to look at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_B Posted December 7, 2011 Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vol_Bengal Posted December 7, 2011 Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 [quote]"There's no way to go to every fire and keep up the manpower, the equipment, and just the funding for the fire department," Crocker said.[/quote] [quote]Firefighters arrived on the scene but as the fire raged, they simply stood by and did nothing.[/quote] I get that if you arrive and do your thing then people aren't going to pay the fee. Why don't you just put the fire out and then bill the property owner a larger fee, say $250 or 300? But, aside from that... the fire chief's justification for not fighting the fire is disingenuous. Don't say that you don't have the manpower to fight these and have fire fighters all over... and then have the fire fighters on scene playing audience to watching the house burn down. If they're so busy they shouldn't have been standing there on the scene... assuming of course there were other fires raging throughout Obion county... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sois Posted December 7, 2011 Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 Some humans are too stupid to take care of themselves. $75 fucking dollars. Mow a couple of lawns and you can protect your house for the year. Jesus Christ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Finklestein Posted December 7, 2011 Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 [quote name='Vol_Bengal' timestamp='1323277577' post='1072031'] I get that if you arrive and do your thing then people aren't going to pay the fee. Why don't you just put the fire out and then bill the property owner a larger fee, say $250 or 300? But, aside from that... the fire chief's justification for not fighting the fire is disingenuous. Don't say that you don't have the manpower to fight these and have fire fighters all over... and then have the fire fighters on scene playing audience to watching the house burn down. If they're so busy they shouldn't have been standing there on the scene... assuming of course there were other fires raging throughout Obion county... [/quote] I agree 1,000,000% with this statement! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Tigers Johnson| Posted December 8, 2011 Report Share Posted December 8, 2011 I am not going to get into this again.... This is a failure way before it gets to a fire department level. Whether people like it or not, elected officials are ultimately the bosses of the fire department. If these firefighters fight this fire they will be subject to discipline and or termination. Also to a further extent they could be sued for using taxpayer property(i.e. trucks, equipment, bunker gear etc...) when they were ordered not to. On top of it all, if a firefighter is hurt while disobeying a direct order he will be denied workers compensation. Again, this is a failure by two communities well before it gets to a fire department level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|kennethmw| Posted December 8, 2011 Report Share Posted December 8, 2011 [quote name='Tigers Johnson' timestamp='1323359768' post='1072205'] I am not going to get into this again.... This is a failure way before it gets to a fire department level. Whether people like it or not, elected officials are ultimately the bosses of the fire department. If these firefighters fight this fire they will be subject to discipline and or termination. Also to a further extent they could be sued for using taxpayer property(i.e. trucks, equipment, bunker gear etc...) when they were ordered not to. On top of it all, if a firefighter is hurt while disobeying a direct order he will be denied workers compensation. Again, this is a failure by two communities well before it gets to a fire department level. [/quote] You know we argued about this last time, but what you are saying is 100% correct. This is a problem with the government entity not the firefighters themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CincyInDC Posted December 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2011 Libertarian paradise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_B Posted December 9, 2011 Report Share Posted December 9, 2011 [quote name='CincyInDC' timestamp='1323384555' post='1072311'] Libertarian paradise! [/quote] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QDv4sYwjO0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelWeston Posted December 9, 2011 Report Share Posted December 9, 2011 [quote name='Vol_Bengal' timestamp='1323277577' post='1072031'] Don't say that you don't have the manpower to fight these and have fire fighters all over... and then have the fire fighters on scene playing audience to watching the house burn down. If they're so busy they shouldn't have been standing there on the scene... assuming of course there were other fires raging throughout Obion county... [/quote] He is saying he needs more funding if he were to do this. This is absolutely what should have happened. You don't pay the fee you don't get taken care of. Its why a fire fee is usually mandated in a sense. You don't get a choice. Also why health insurance should be mandated. You dont get to pay just when your house is burning down. Fires happen so infrequently that no one would pay until a fire happened and they would pay the extra amount. What happens when no fires occur for a year? How do the fireman get paid or get quality equipment? What happens when there are fires next year and there now are no fireman? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vol_Bengal Posted December 9, 2011 Report Share Posted December 9, 2011 [quote name='MichaelWeston' timestamp='1323457391' post='1072663'] He is saying he needs more funding if he were to do this. This is absolutely what should have happened. You don't pay the fee you don't get taken care of. Its why a fire fee is usually mandated in a sense. You don't get a choice. Also why health insurance should be mandated. You dont get to pay just when your house is burning down. Fires happen so infrequently that no one would pay until a fire happened and they would pay the extra amount. What happens when no fires occur for a year? How do the fireman get paid or get quality equipment? What happens when there are fires next year and there now are no fireman? [/quote] Bullshit. Sure, the people should pay the fee. But if they don't then charge them a "penalty rate" for putting it out. But the mayor's excuse [quote]There's no way to go to every fire and keep up the manpower[/quote] is that these guys are running all over the county just super busy...yet they managed to arrive on the scene and stand there and watch it burn. I mean, shit, at least just don't show up and stand there with your thumb up your ass. Since common sense isn't going to prevail here... this mayor is obviously a city mayor - do they not have a county mayor? No presiding government entity to oversee the county outside the city limits? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sois Posted December 9, 2011 Report Share Posted December 9, 2011 [quote name='Vol_Bengal' timestamp='1323462285' post='1072697'] Bullshit. Sure, the people should pay the fee. But if they don't then charge them a "penalty rate" for putting it out. [/quote] This is dumb. They didn't have $75 for the fee that they were notified of well in advance, why would they have $500 on the spot? Next thing you know, the fire department is sitting on a stack of IOU's that aren't worth the paper they are written on. People need to learn their goddamn lesson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelWeston Posted December 9, 2011 Report Share Posted December 9, 2011 [quote name='sois' timestamp='1323463586' post='1072707'] This is dumb. They didn't have $75 for the fee that they were notified of well in advance, why would they have $500 on the spot? Next thing you know, the fire department is sitting on a stack of IOU's that aren't worth the paper they are written on. People need to learn their goddamn lesson. [/quote] Every single person would wait until there house was on fire and then pay the fee then. Lets say the fee is 750 dollars. You would save money by not paying and just waiting for the fire department to come if your house caught fire just once every 11 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_B Posted December 9, 2011 Report Share Posted December 9, 2011 The bottom line is it should be paid by way of taxes. This privitize stuff is asinine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CincyInDC Posted December 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2011 [quote name='Jamie_B' timestamp='1323468888' post='1072727'] The bottom line is it should be paid by way of taxes. This privitize stuff is asinine. [/quote] You sound like an America hater, Jamie. Add that to bad speller, and you're just the Liberazi to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sois Posted December 9, 2011 Report Share Posted December 9, 2011 [quote name='Jamie_B' timestamp='1323468888' post='1072727'] The bottom line is it should be paid by way of taxes. This privitize stuff is asinine. [/quote] People think that requiring it via taxes means the government is controlling them. Those people need to be taught a lesson. Send a fucking message Obama! Burn motherfucker, burn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CincyInDC Posted December 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2011 we don't need no water let the motherfucker burn. burn, motherfucker, burn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_B Posted December 9, 2011 Report Share Posted December 9, 2011 [quote name='CincyInDC' timestamp='1323469719' post='1072731'] You sound like an America hater, Jamie. Add that to [color=#ff0000]bad speller[/color], and you're just the Liberazi to me. [/quote] That's what I get for using my phone on that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelWeston Posted December 10, 2011 Report Share Posted December 10, 2011 [quote name='sois' timestamp='1323470105' post='1072733'] People think that requiring it via taxes means the government is controlling them. Those people need to be taught a lesson. Send a fucking message Obama! Burn motherfucker, burn. [/quote] [indent] This morning I was awoken by my alarm clock powered by electricity generated by the public power monopoly regulated by the US department of energy. I then took a shower in the clean water provided by the municipal water utility. After that, I turned on the TV to one of the FCC regulated channels to see what the national weather service of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration determined the weather was going to be like using satellites designed, built, and launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. I watched this while eating my breakfast of US Department of Agriculture inspected food and taking the drugs which have been determined as safe by the Food and Drug Administration. At the appropriate time as regulated by the US congress and kept accurate by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the US naval observatory, I get into my National Highway Traffic Safety Administration approved automobile and set out to work on the roads build by the local, state, and federal Departments of Transportation, possibly stopping to purchase additional fuel of a quality level determined by the Environmental Protection Agency, using legal tender issued by the Federal Reserve Bank. On the way out the door I deposit any mail I have to be sent out via the US Postal Service and drop the kids off at the public school. After spending another day not being maimed or killed at work thanks to the workplace regulations imposed by the Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, enjoying another two meals which again do not kill me because of the USDA, I drive my NHTSA car back home on the DOT roads, to my house which has not burned down in my absence because of the state and local building codes and fire marshal’s inspection, and which has not been plundered of all it’s valuables thanks to the local police department. I then log on to the internet which was developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects administration and post on freerepublic.com and Fox News forums about how [b]socialism[/b] in medicine is [b]bad[/b] because the government can’t do anything right.[/indent] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|kennethmw| Posted December 10, 2011 Report Share Posted December 10, 2011 [quote name='MichaelWeston' timestamp='1323488946' post='1072769'] [indent] This morning I was awoken by my alarm clock powered by electricity generated by the public power monopoly regulated by the US department of energy. I then took a shower in the clean water provided by the municipal water utility. After that, I turned on the TV to one of the FCC regulated channels to see what the national weather service of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration determined the weather was going to be like using satellites designed, built, and launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. I watched this while eating my breakfast of US Department of Agriculture inspected food and taking the drugs which have been determined as safe by the Food and Drug Administration. At the appropriate time as regulated by the US congress and kept accurate by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the US naval observatory, I get into my National Highway Traffic Safety Administration approved automobile and set out to work on the roads build by the local, state, and federal Departments of Transportation, possibly stopping to purchase additional fuel of a quality level determined by the Environmental Protection Agency, using legal tender issued by the Federal Reserve Bank. On the way out the door I deposit any mail I have to be sent out via the US Postal Service and drop the kids off at the public school. After spending another day not being maimed or killed at work thanks to the workplace regulations imposed by the Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, enjoying another two meals which again do not kill me because of the USDA, I drive my NHTSA car back home on the DOT roads, to my house which has not burned down in my absence because of the state and local building codes and fire marshal’s inspection, and which has not been plundered of all it’s valuables thanks to the local police department. I then log on to the internet which was developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects administration and post on freerepublic.com and Fox News forums about how [b]socialism[/b] in medicine is [b]bad[/b] because the government can’t do anything right.[/indent] [/quote] I have to admit weston, that's damn good. I emailed it out to all of my friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelWeston Posted December 10, 2011 Report Share Posted December 10, 2011 [quote name='kennethmw' timestamp='1323526059' post='1072801'] I have to admit weston, that's damn good. I emailed it out to all of my friends. [/quote] Not originally mine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sois Posted December 10, 2011 Report Share Posted December 10, 2011 I call bullshit, nobody sends regular mail anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|kennethmw| Posted December 10, 2011 Report Share Posted December 10, 2011 When I saw the indents, I figured that part out. However, it is still very appropo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-GoBengals- Posted December 10, 2011 Report Share Posted December 10, 2011 [quote name='Vol_Bengal' timestamp='1323277577' post='1072031'] I get that if you arrive and do your thing then people aren't going to pay the fee. Why don't you just put the fire out and then bill the property owner a larger fee, say $250 or 300? But, aside from that... the fire chief's justification for not fighting the fire is disingenuous. Don't say that you don't have the manpower to fight these and have fire fighters all over... and then have the fire fighters on scene playing audience to watching the house burn down. If they're so busy they shouldn't have been standing there on the scene... assuming of course there were other fires raging throughout Obion county... [/quote] if i recall, from the previous article, the fire fighters show up to ensure neighboring houses arent damaged or affected by the fire, not just to watch... they didnt pay it.. fuck em. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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