# Anyone hear about this?



## Confusticated (Oct 8, 2010)

Firefighters in rural Tennessee let a home burn to the ground last week because the homeowner hadn't paid a $75 fee.


----------



## Mike (Oct 9, 2010)

Kafkaesque.


----------



## Turgon (Oct 9, 2010)

Hah! I'm so glad I stopped reading Kafka! 

By the way Mike, I was reading your blog a while back and your Beowolverine cartoon had me in stitches... good stuff sir!


----------



## HLGStrider (Oct 10, 2010)

Yeah, the issue was that the house in question was outside of the district that paid taxes for the upkeep of the fire department, so the tax district supporting the fire department had worked out a system of fire insurance where you could buy insurance where they would cover you even though you weren't paying taxes. I've seen this done before with libraries (though admittedly libraries are a much less essential service to fire safety), where if you live out of the area that provides tax revenue for the library you can still purchase a membership for a fee. This home owner had apparently chosen not to do so. 

I can understand the application of the fee system, especially in areas where the rural residents are outside of city tax districts but still need coverage, but I think the way this situation was handled was just stupid and bureaucratic. Rather than watch it burn, it would make more sense to have it handles like emergency room visits, where they can't deny you treatment but can charge you afterward for the service.


----------

