Just put the damn fire out

[npk]

You are already there. Put the fire out and then, BILL THE GUY FOR THE APPROPRIATE FEE THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN COLLECTED. IF HE REFUSES TO PAY YOU THEN SUE HIM. Isn't this the simplest way to handle things. Rather than just standing there and watching the guys house burn to the ground. Yes the guy was irresponsible for the uncontrolled burn that caused his house to catch fire in the first place, but lots of people are irresponsible. Doesn't make them any less human or any less deserving of aid. To me as a human I would not have been able to stand there and watch the man house completely burn to the ground. What the hell is wrong with people.

[Fumesucker]

1. They tried that before..

In fact the guy's grandson had a fire extinguished that way..

He didn't pay and over half the county residents didn't either..

Hence the policy that is so upsetting.

[npk]

7. I get that

I am just saying that things could have been handled differently. The town/city in Kentucky could have sued the man to collect in court. I understand that others had stiffed the town on collecting the fees. That is where the law has to be more clearly defined, and the city must go after deadbeats who use their services, but fail to pay, more harshly.

[Fumesucker]

8. And the county could have raised a tax to pay for the fire protection..

Why blame the city for the failures of the county residents who voted 19-1 against raising taxes to support a FD?

[npk]

9. I blame the city for their handling of the situation

I also recognize that the man who owned the home was irresponsible. Still though, you put the fire out. You deal with the man and his grandson later. Hell it doesn't matter much anyway, By the time the fire department got there the house was already fully engulfed. The whole situation is a mess. Yes the town should have a tax base to pay for the services. I agree with you on that. But what should be and what is are two different things.

We are supposed to be a civilized society, but we lack the civil part far too often.

[Fumesucker]

10. Umm.. the town *does* have a tax base that funds the FD..

The problem is that the county does not have such a tax base..

The wealthy sponging off the benevolence of the poor is hardly "civilized"..

[npk]

11. Sorry bout that. I should have worded that better

Yes the man did live outside the city limits where services were payed for via taxes. And yes the county does need to come up with a better system. But the fact is firefighters should put out fires. The city should then address those who failed to pay that $75 annual fee, but required the use of the service any way. They can address this in many different ways. Court would have been one option.

[Fumesucker]

12. The FD tried that in the past..

Indeed the man's own grandson had a fire not covered by the $75 fee that the city FD went ahead and extinguished anyhow...

The grandson never paid..

The county is 75% of the calls the FD gets and over half of those not covered by the fee never pay the charges for fighting their fires.

It's an unsustainable model for the city.

[npk]

13. Agreed.

I understand what you are saying. I don't like what this home owner did either or any of the rest of the people who refuse to pay the fee and then demand service. I think the city needs to come up with a more sustainable plan. The problem is that like you said the county is going to vote any tax proposal down. So what happens then. They keep voting it down, time after time, you are back to square one. That is where the county is at now, square one, because the majority of the residents are not willing to pay for services they feel they shouldn't have to pay for.

Do we keep going down this road till somebody is killed. Yes lets try and fix the problem, while we still protect life and property. I think that is what we should be talking about.

[npk]

14. BTW why didn't the city sue the damn grandson

It's their own damn fault for letting the guy screw them over like that. Take his dumb ass to court. That is how we handle problems in a civilized society.

[Fumesucker]

16. If the service wasn't contracted for I'm not sure what they would sue for..

You can't sue for breach of contract where there's no contract in the first place.

[npk]

17. You don't need a contract

It's small claims. It's basically a service being rendered, and not paid for. The man is asking for a service, which costs money. He fails the pay, you sue. You could even say that a verbal agreement was reached when the man called 911 and said he would pay to have the fire put out.

[Fumesucker]

18. The amounts in question are probably beyond what small claims court could handle..

We're not talking $75, it's more like thousands for a response team, let alone actually fighting a fire.

And how long will a business last if they have to take over half their customers to court to get payment?

[TexasObserver]

2. sounds good

[KittyWampus]

3. No it doesn't. Salaries don't get paid and equipment can't be bought and maintained that way.

[TexasObserver]

6. Sure it does. You need to learn about the topic.

The practice you embrace is a rarity in America.

[petronius]

4. Link?

:shrug:

[Jamastiene]

5. I hope DU paid the $75.

Every thread on this topic catches on fire in the list of topics. :wow:

It is like the fire has spread to DU and those people in TN that call themselves firefighters are still standing the fuck around. I hope they are pleased with themselves. x(

[donheld]

15. We should just charge every DUer $1 for every thread posted at DU

on this God Damned fire thing. We'd have enough money for the whole county.
Only charge the Original Thread starters.