So a fire fighter service let some guys home burn down destroying all he owns and killing his pets. All because the guy forgot to pay a $75 fee. I agree with his son and would have likely punch out the chief myself. What are your thoughts?
Also just to add a bit of conversation do you think this is comparable to the way US health care service is run?
(Oct. 6) -- A small rural community in western Tennessee is outraged and the fire chief is nursing a black eye after firefighters stood by and watched a mobile home burn to the ground because the homeowner hadn't paid a $75 municipal fee.
South Fulton city firefighters -- equipped with trucks, hoses and other firefighting equipment -- didn't intervene to save Gene Cranick's doublewide trailer home when it caught fire last week. But they did arrive on the scene to protect the house of a neighbor, who had paid his fire subscription fee.
"I just forgot to pay my $75," Cranick told ABC News. "I did it last year, the year before. ... It slipped my mind."
Later that day, Cranick's son Timothy went to the fire station to complain, and punched the fire chief in the face.
"He just cold-cocked him," Police Chief Andy Crocker told the Union City Daily Messenger. The younger Cranick was arrested and charged with felony aggravated assault, and South Fulton Fire Chief David Wilds was treated and released from a hospital, Crocker said.
Firefighters in South Fulton city are under orders to respond only to fire calls within their city limits, as well as to surrounding Obion County, but only to homes there where people have signed up for a fire subscription service.
Because Cranick hadn't paid his fee, firefighters doused the border of his neighbor's property to protect that house in case the flames spread, but wouldn't help him. He lost all his possessions, plus three dogs and a cat.
"They could have been saved if they had put water on it, but they didn't do it," Cranick told MSNBC.
Sponsored Links The fire began when Cranick's grandson set fire to some trash near the house, and the flames leapt up. Cranick said he told the 911 operator that he'd pay whatever fee was necessary, but it was too late.
"I have no problem with the way any of my people handled the situation. They did what they were supposed to do," South Fulton City Manager Jeff Vowell told the Messenger. "It's a regrettable situation any time something like this happens."
But one firefighting expert said the fee system isn't fair to homeowners or firefighters.
"Professional, career firefighters shouldn't be forced to check a list before running out the door to see which homeowners have paid up," Harold Schatisberger, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, said in statement excerpted by MSNBC. "They get in their trucks and go."
The fee reflects trade. You give someone money, they give you something in return. Because 75 is not very much money at all, they should have saved the 700k home or however much it cost, then demand 75 dollars afterwords.
I agree, they should have just asked for the fee after wards. But seeing as this mess is over the fee this does have something to do with that system.
Actually, it shouldn't be a tax considering you're already paying taxes to support the fire debt. I could be wrong though. If, for one reason or another, the fire department is running off the yearly fees alone, then I suppose it wouldn't hurt to make it a tax.
If his taxes are already going to the service then not paying an additional fee for this service makes no sense. It's like having to pay twice for something.
If basically paying twice is what you mean by it not fitting capitalism then I see your point.
Well, it is, seeing as the only rights you have are the ones you pay for. Indeed, I would say this is an example of capitalism at its purest. People witholding services which could save lives for the sake of money. And a paltry sum at that.
We don't need to become socialist to fix the problem, we simply need to say "hey, let's make it so they fight all fires, and if someone doesn't pay the yearly fee, we charge them a bit more AFTER the fire is put out."
No one said we needed to become socialists to solve the problem, so don't make connections which aren't there. What is undeniable is that under a publicly funded system, this wouldn't have happened, and under this capitalistic system, this did happen.
I am so sick of people acting outraged when this kind of thing occurs, and then staunchly refusing to tolerate any kind of publicly funded service on ideological grounds. You reap what you sow, and in this case, it's ashes.
And someone ordered the firefighters not to put it out, so don't put all the blame on them.
doesn't matter. It takes a special type of person to watch a house burn down and do nothing, orders or not.
"hey, let's make it so they fight all fires, and if someone doesn't pay the yearly fee, we charge them a bit more AFTER the fire is put out."
Or we could not pay the stupid fee. How many cities, regions, counties, what have you, do YOU know that have such a stupid system. The system says "Well guys the list says no so you don't do your job"
That just goes to show where money stands in the equation for public services.....Maybe people would be way more willing or more diligent in paying their fee if the people actually did their job. And it's not like the homeowner didn't have the money, he just forgot to pay it. Does it really matter whether its paid before or after? Or is it supposed to be a lesson to all taxpayer's, if you don't pay your fee to the government who's already taxing you, you're house will not be saved if anything happens because you didn't pay for it yet.
Well, it is, seeing as the only rights you have are the ones you pay for.
1. It's a service.
2. What do you mean the only rights (or rather, services) you have are the ones you pay for? No matter if it's communism, socialism, or capitalism, YOU ARE PAYING FOR THE SERVICE. The only difference is how you pay.
People withholding services which could save lives for the sake of money. And a paltry sum at that.
Again, you get this with any economic system, including socialism. The only difference is that socialism takes money from you whether you are going to use the service or not.
No one said we needed to become socialists to solve the problem, so don't make connections which aren't there.
Sorry, I should have been more specific. We shouldn't change the whole economic system, socialism being an example.
What is undeniable is that under a publicly funded system, this wouldn't have happened, and under this capitalistic system, this did happen.
It already IS publicly funded. Good job.
It's not a national problem with capitalism, it's a local problem with a policy.
I am so sick of people acting outraged when this kind of thing occurs, and then staunchly refusing to tolerate any kind of publicly funded service on ideological grounds.
Sometimes publicly funded services are better. They are not the answer to everything though.
I haven't read the other two pages so I don't know what's been said, but my question is; why not just save the mans house, and then charge him for the fee plus a fine later on? What if a person rather than a pet had been caught in the blaze, would they still have stood and watched?
Wow that's a horrible system they have. Is that system unique to the area or is it more widespread?
Sometimes publicly funded services are better.
They are almost always better. No one should get special treatment in a hazard or emergency situation.
Just horrible if there was a person inside would they have ignored that too. Probably most likely since they let four animals die just to basically make an example of him.
I don't understand this. Isn't public services made available to every tax-paying citizen? That's the case in California. Apparently, Tennessee doesn't do this. Oh well, just makes me glad I don't live out in the sticks somewhere in Middle America.
Well that's good. Imagine all the cats and dogs that would have died. It's almost unimaginable something like this could exist the structure of the system is even worse than the structure of the Roman Senate under Augustus.
Oh dogs and cats die in much worse ways. And not just in America. Did you see that British lady dumping her kitten in the trash? Just like a crack whore on prom night.
