The homeowner said he forgot to pay the fee and when the firefighters showed up, he told them he would pay whatever fee they wanted to charge, just save his house. The firefighters called the politician in charge and he told them to not fight the fire, regardless if the homeowner would pay an increased fee or not. I'm all for personal responsibility, but there is a lot to be said for morality too. Letting this man's home and belongings burn to the ground when it could have been prevented does not seem right. Nevermind that he would have paid more than $75 and now his homeowner's insurance will be picking up the tab.
I wonder what would have happened to the firefighters that ignored the orders of their bosses who said don't do it. Should they risk their jobs for the sake of one house?
I have to wonder if people who agree the house should have been left to burn would be so cavalier and cold hearted if it was thier home burning. "Oh, I forgot to pay the $75. Okay, well I guess you should let it burn then!" What is it was your family
That's why I bought a house with a sprinkler system, use a digital camera for photos and use off-site storage, keep all of my essential document and firearms in a fireproof gun safe, and have home owners insurance to cover the rest.
I remember once when I was on a call of a family dispute where, right in front of me, an elderly lady passed out due to stress. We called the fire department to come check her out and it took 10 minutes for them to arrive (I counted).
The unit that came was literally across the street. It would have taken me less time to walk over there with her then it took for them to drive over as they did. I am under no illusions as to the response times of government employees.
The more I see some of the more conservative positions on this story and some others, I see a common thread, F the poor and compassion is for left wing bleeding hearts. I can respect some conservative positions even if I don't agree with them, but this Let them eat cake type of thinking just annoys me...especially those that claim to be practicing Christians. It certainly lens weight to Ghandi when he said, "I like your Christ. Not so much Christians. They aren't very Christ like."
I don't think that you would find many conservatives here who would actually stand by and watch the house burn. That being said, however, the onus and responsibility was on the home owner to pay the bill, not the firefighters to violate their orders from their bosses. That, I think, is what is mainly being discussed here.
You don't get to keep your car in order to go to work and provide for your family if you don't pay the car note. You don't get to keep your gas going in the winter if you don't pay your gas bill.
Personally, I would have doused the fire. To my way of thinking, what's the worst that could happen. I tell my bosses, "Oops, thought he had paid the fee. You should probably bill him for our services, the lazy rat bastard." (snicker)
Better to ask for forgiveness then beg for permission.
