Firefighters let man's home burn down over $75 fee.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

If it is true that the FD's insurance does not cover services delivered to non-customers, and life is not in danger, it seems pretty risky for the FD to deliver service. The home owner could turn around and sue the FD if something goes not to his liking, and the FD wouldn't have legal defense insurance. Or if one of the fire fighters gets hurt putting out the fire, no insurance. Not worth it if life is not in danger.

[gregintenn]

I have a little different take than any of te posts I've read. If my house is on fire, and someone calls the fire dept., I want them to make sure my neighbor's property doesn't catch fire, and let mine burn. The last thing I want to do after a house fire is argue with an insurance adjustor who wants to save a couple of bucks by rehabing a smoke and water damaged house. I want it gone! I feel they did this gentleman a favor.

[Guest strelcevina]

This is such a funny thread.

Arguing about 75$ and did he paid or not lol

Fact is : somebody called for fire emergency .and they refused to help.

What if guy had a family or pets inside a house .

Sorry ur fault mister , u didn't pay effing 75$

But. Firefighters all over U.S. are eager to be compared to NYFD.

Where did those firefighters left their patriotism that day

[mikegideon]

The guy wouldn't pony up 75 bucks. You think he's going to pay anything after the fact? There were no winners in this situation no matter the outcome. If the FD has a heart, then the whole area loses it's fire department because others wonder why the hell they have to pay when others don't. No yearly dues, no money for equipment, repairs or fuel, NO Fire Dept!

It's not easy to read and worse to deal with if it's local, but there is no way out now....we either face the fact that the uncaring and irresponsible can no longer be sustained and they either become contributing members of the group or suffer tremendous loss as in this case. It's reached that point now. Those that don't care to pay a fee or get up and walk out of their soon to be hurricane flooded parrish are beginning to overload the system. It just can't continue like this without repercussions for us all.

Anyone have a house that's worth lots less than when you bought it for no other reason than "everyone" was entitled to a home of their own, even if they couldn't or wouldn't keep up the payments?

I agree with all you're sayin', but we have a homeless family on our hands now. If they were on the tit before, they're really gonna be on it now. Charge him the real cost and make him sign a contract on the spot. The guy IS a property owner. You can put a lein on is house... oh wait.

[Guest db99wj]

So if you dont pay your car insurance, And have a wreck just send the insurance your premium and they will cover it. If your house catches on fire it is too late to pay for protection.

The fact is the vol. fire depts function on donation or subscription fees. When they run out of money we will be back to bucket brigades.

Did you know that this is how Obamacare is going to work and can work? Yep, you cancel your insurance, you pay the fine, which will be cheaper than insurance premiums, you pay out of your own pocket normal doctor visits and if you get majorly sick, or in an accident, you or a loved one applies for insurance coverage. The insurance company has to cover you and the expenses, no preexisting conditions apply. So in the paperwork that you are filling out, you fill out the insurance application and you are covered. This is how our medical insurance system is going to work. But this is a different topic for a different day.

Anyway, according to the interview with the guy, he said he paid in the past, but had forgotten to pay it this year. Again, this is all about the money.

Strel, 2 dogs and a cat were killed in the fire.

I understand why they didn't do anything, the precedence it starts is dangerous slippery slope. They were already there, protecting the neighbors so if I was on scene, I would at a minimum put water on it. I wouldn't have gone in, but I would have done at least that. I'm not familiar with the policies in place, but that wouldn't have put me in danger but would have helped prevent the spread of the fire. It would have been in the best interest to knock the fire down, especially considering how dry it is here in West TN and the burn warnings that are in place.

If dude set it himself or he had his son do it(I think I read that his son was doing the burning), then the authorities need to come after him, swiftly and harshly.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

This type of practice has been going on for a long time. This isn't the first time

it has happened. If I was his neighbor, I would have helped him try to put the fire

out. This isn't the fire department's fault. When you live in a rural area, like him,

this is common practice, or there may be a volunteer fire department that may

cover the area. It's sad, but it's life. There are limits to what can be done, and

it depends on how much you expect your government to do and how much you

are willing to pay.

We get a whiff of this on the internet, or the nightly news and it outrages some,

but it has been going on for years, just not in front of us. Generations of families

have had to deal with this and accepted it because they knew there was no fire

protection available, and chose to live there, anyway.

You want government to do things right? Quit expecting it to do everything and quit

rationalizing it away by adding a tax, here and there, to add services. MNPD can't

respond because of the volume of things they have to respond to and the manpower

they have, and, I'm sure their budget. Same with the rural fire protection.

Get back to the basics. Life isn't fair.

Don't feed the bears.

[Garufa]

Not entirely off-topic but any of you in Knox County serviced by Karns Volunteer Fire Department are about to be hit-up for subscription fees....

[Guest GT_Rat]

One could argue that putting out the fire would fall under protecting the neighbors homes. Allowed to burn unchecked the fire could easily spread to other properties.

[daddyo]

This is such a funny thread.

Arguing about 75$ and did he paid or not lol

Fact is : somebody called for fire emergency .and they refused to help.

What if guy had a family or pets inside a house .

Sorry ur fault mister , u didn't pay effing 75$

But. Firefighters all over U.S. are eager to be compared to NYFD.

Where did those firefighters left their patriotism that day

Did it ever occur to you that the firefighters might not have been the ones making the choice? Maybe they were just doing what they were told to.

No one is entitled to free government services.

[raydog1]

This sounds like bad policy to me. What if there is a clerical error? I can recall a few times in my life when a company incorrectly said I didn't pay bill. A phone call & a fax cleared it up. How do I handle this when the evidence is burning?

I used to travel a lot & on a few occasions forget to drop off the water bill. No biggie. They just tack on a couple bucks & I pay it when I'm back in town. They don't shut off the service. This guy says he's paid before & just forgot this time. He was ready to pay anything. Harsh lesson for doing something we all do: forgetting.

There must be a better way.

Sent from my HTC Incredible using Tapatalk Pro

[G27]

Apparently when the FD showed up (as the fire was spreading to the neighbor's property who had paid for coverage) they informed him that it was too late - his house was fully involved. I grew up next to a fire chief and recall him telling me that about half the fires they arrive at are so fully involved they just let it burn out and control the spread - fighting it is foolish if it's far enough along.

That appears to be the case here as well - he didn't pay the fee so they didn't come out. When they neighbor's property was threatened, they dispatched a crew and when they arrived it was too late to save his home.

But heck, that's not nearly as sensational as 'they watched his house burn over $75'.

[Guest HexHead]

Due to this tragic incident, I feel that their policy should be rewritten. They should state in their contract that the fire department will respond to all incidents, but if you have not paid the annual fire protection fee, you will pay the full cost of the firefighting crew. I think that is fair.

Fair is just another four letter word that starts with "F".

[Punisher84]

But heck, that's not nearly as sensational as 'they watched his house burn over $75'.

Well sometimes the truth hurts doesn't it?

[vontar]

Not entirely off-topic but any of you in Knox County serviced by Karns Volunteer Fire Department are about to be hit-up for subscription fees....

I think everyone should be made aware of the fact that if they do not subscribe, pay the protection money, they will not have any fire department services.

This case is a good example. Man forgot to pay his bill and was not covered when he needed them the most.

[raydog1]

I think everyone should be made aware of the fact that if they do not subscribe, pay the protection money, they will not have any fire department services.

This case is a good example. Man forgot to pay his bill and was not covered when he needed them the most.

I'd also recommend that folk get confirmation in person that they're paid in full. Don't just mail it in & hope that some minimum wage earning teenage relative of the chief inputs your data correctly.

Sent from my HTC Incredible using Tapatalk Pro

[Guest HexHead]

I don't see this as freeloading. I see this as careless yes,

The guy paid his price for his careless stupidity and I agree he should have. I just think he should have been able to have his house saved and paid dearly monetarily to the fire dept after.

Careless my ass. Careless is forgetting to pay just this year. This worthless POS hasn't paid in the 20 years the system has been in place. That pattern suggests a very conscious decision over a long period of time. He was betting his house wouldn't catch fire and he lost. Screw him.

[Guest 85rx-7gsl-se]

at some point along the line the guy payed taxes in one form or another that purchased that truck. even if they weren't "required" to do it, sometimes you just have to do what is right. when a man offers to pay whatever necessary why let him lose everything to set an example of $75. I dont know if i could sleep at night over that.

If it was a municipal department then it seems like there is a good chance as a county residence his tax money didnt go towards the purchase of the equipment. Same case if it was just a volunteer department.

[KahrMan]

Careless my ass. Careless is forgetting to pay just this year. This worthless POS hasn't paid in the 20 years the system has been in place. That pattern suggests a very conscious decision over a long period of time. He was betting his house wouldn't catch fire and he lost. Screw him.

"I just forgot to pay my $75," Cranick told ABC News. "I did it last year, the year before. ... It slipped my mind."

then...

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.

[Guest db99wj]

then...

That is just typical Obion County justice! I'm up from around them there parts.

[kb4ns]

Aggravated assault? I missed something...

[Guest db99wj]

Aggravated assault? I missed something...

Tennessee Family's Home Burns to the Ground as Firefighters Stand and Watch - ABC News

They talk about it around 1.05 in the video

[Daniel]

This is being discussed on Gizmodo also. Pretty much the same run in the comments. Some for one side, some for the other.

[Guest 85rx-7gsl-se]

then...

Well that will sure make things a whole lot better....

[Daniel]

Rural Tennessee fire sparks conservative ideological debate | The Upshot Yahoo! News - Yahoo! News

"I hadn't paid my $75 and that's what they want, $75, and they don't care how much it burned down," Gene Cranick told WPSD, an NBC affiliate in Kentucky. "I thought they'd come out and put it out, even if you hadn't paid your $75, but I was wrong."

Seems he knew he hadn't paid. Looks to me that he is now lying to gain sympathy.

[Guest KimberChick]

If I forget to pay my health insurance and, after the paid coverage ends, I end up getting into a serious accident, I'm stuck with the bill. Whether its $2000 or $2,000,000 it falls to me as it happened when I had no coverage. Even if I pay late to reinstate it, that "event" won't be covered. That's just how it is. It keeps people from kiting coverage by only paying up when something happens. In this case, something did happen. You gamble and sometimes you lose.

If it is true they were violating a burn ban and that's what caused the fire, I don't think homeowner's will cover the loss anyway.