This just makes me sick!

[dainerra]

Just, the service would have been providced if they had pa8id the fee. Since they didn't, people are protesting and saying that they should have provided the service anyway

 

[justuschickens59]

Quote:
I do understand what the thread is about. Somebody mentioned HOW the FD knew that this person hadn't paid and I was just asking what would happen in a scenario where a person paid the fee, but an error was made and they didn't get credit for it and the computer said that the person had not paid. I was just trying to say that maybe the way this town handles the fire fee isn't the most efficient or accurate. If somebody's home burnt to the ground because of a clerical error - that would be pretty devastating.

Anyway - that's all I have to say about it.

 

[dainerra]

but, we don't know how they handle things if there is a dispute about whether or not it was paid! Perhaps, in that case, they fight the fire and figure it out later.

Of course, this isn't likely to be something they advertise or everyone would say "oh, I DID pay. I swear I did."

The people in question never said that they paid. They even implied that they thought about it but just didn't want to spend the money. As I said, it's an apples and oranges comparison.

 

[WriterofWords]

Ok, even if they didn't pay the $75 the home should have been saved. In an instance like that bill them whatever you want, but IMO what happened is disgusting. I would never support that department in any way, shape, or form, again.

 

[dainerra]

unfortunately, if no one paid there $75 until after the fire there wouldn't BE a fire department anyway.

Why do these rules come about? Because everyone wants services, but they don't want to pay for them.
Everyone wants more police on the streets and a faster response time. But no one wants the tax increase to hire more officers.
Everyone wants better schools. No one wants the tax increase to fund the schools.
Everyone wants more/better roads. No one wants the taxes.
Everyone wants the fire dept to put out their fire, but doesn't want to pay the $75 to keep the fire dept in business.

Honestly, do you think that they would pay the money afterwards? "Hey, I know I didn't pay you the $75, but go ahead and bill me a couple hundred (or thousand!!) and I'll pay ya later" This has been the policy there for years. Just last year another home burnt and there was big news about it. The people involved knew about the fee or at the very minimum don't have a reason that they shouldn't know.

If they started fighting fires even if you haven't paid the fee, who would bother to pay it?? How fair is that? I pay my $75 you pay nothing. Your house catches on fire and you get services. Why should I pay next year? Then before you know it what do you have? No fire dept because there was no money to buy equipment or pay insurance or train fire fighters.

How about homeowners insurance? They apparently didn't have that either. But maybe the company should just go ahead and cover this loss anyway and they will pay the premiums later.

 

[dainerra]

Quote:
in many cases, if you live in an area where you have to pay a fee and didn't you could find yourself being out of luck. The insurance company could look at it as YOUR fault that the fire wasn't put out, since you didn't pay the fee. It's like the bank requiring you to have homeowners insurance.
In that case, who do you think the bank is going to go after for their money? The firefighters? Nope, the negligent person who didn't pay their fees and caused the loss of the home.

 

[Buff Oreo]

okay, seriously? you are saying that the firefighters are right??? come ON! 75 bucks versus someones hopes and dreams? and they had to go back into the blaze to get their stuff? would you be saying this if it was YOUR HOUSE? no. so don't even say that.

 

[chickened]

Suppose the house that burnt had a wife and kids and the father is the one that said no way in hell am I paying 75 bucks, now the kids and mother have no home. It was wrong of the FD to do nothing they should have responded and then billed them afterwards. There is more to this story...

 

[dainerra]

if it was my house, I would have paid the fee.

There are a LOT of things that I can't afford, but it's the price of having those items. Car insurance. I can think of a lot of other things I'd rather spend my money on. I mean, I haven't had an accident in 6 years, and the last one wasn't my fault. Why should I pay for insurance.

I keep hearing "oh those are their hopes and dreams. they were so important to them" if they were so important, they would have found the money to pay the measly $75. Maybe pawn a couple of those precious possessions to pay the fee? Borrow money from a friend? Ask the city about making payments if they had no other choice?

How about if that $75 was supposed to pay the insurance for the fire fighters. Oops, we didn't have money to pay our workers comp because no one paid their fees this year.

Honestly, I'm surprised that they were even allowed to go back into the home. Usually the police on the scene will stop that.

Again, it's not like they would have said "oops, sorry grandma is going to burn to death" They were more than willing to risk their lives to save another person, without thought of whether or not the fee was paid. But to risk your life for someone's photographs. Someone who didn't think that your LIFE was worth a lousy $75? Because, in the end, that is what we are talking about here. The fee insures that the firemen have training and the gear to make sure that they can get out of a fire alive. Nope, I don't fault them at all. I know that firemen die every single day in the line of their duties. That the public should support them by making sure they have reliable equipment is the least they can do.

 

[stilldeb]

My husband was Assistant Chief of our Volunteer FD for 20 yrs and president of our county Chief's Association. They put out fires in the homes of our neighbors because that what a VFD is - it's your neighbors. The guys never would have let a neighbor's house burn, and never would have checked first to see if they were paid up. I've seen them do some crazy things to KEEP a neighbor's house from burning - like getting halfway up a steep, ice-covered hill with a fire truck and then starting to slide backward down the hill. If the people hadn't made their contribution to the VFD, they would be billed after the fact. (The departments also get some support from the State and from the County.) And everybody in the community would have gotten together and had a 'shower' to provide things/clothes for the family that they had lost, as well as the local church arranging for taking food to wherever they were staying.