Tennesee Firefighters Let Home Burn To Ground Because...(video)

YEAH, it should be on the property tax. After all, a MINOR fire started by someone can cause a MAJOR one that can destroy a town. I have seen the police report to maybe a dozen fires. I figure over HALF could have become major fires, and nearly all were due to someone cooking food too long and abandoning it.

Steve

It's interesting how opinions and viewpoints can change when confronted with reality. A few years ago I would have been appalled at firefighters letting the house burn.

After Katrina I saw things that I couldn't explain. People who did not pay for property insurance ended up getting much more than responsible homeowners who had paid for insurance - and insurers refused their claims.

Five years later many of those who did not take responsibility (getting insurance) before Katrina have received tens of thousands of govt dollars and are far better off than those of us who had to cover many of the repair costs ourselves because insurance wouldn't cover it all.

I lost all sympathy for those who feel they are entitled to help when they have not taken any steps to protect themselves.

kay

It isn't THAT bad or that consistent. In fact, there are a TON of things to limit the level of poverty, ESPECIALLY if there are Women, Infants, or Children! WIC's Mission HECK, they made enough that they felt ok about risking the whole neighborhood's very existence!

GEE, you make it sound like a conspiracy. HECK, there are watts and various parts of slums, and parts of Tennessee, etc... They don't hide it. Look at jeff foxworthy or "my name is earl". They show such things and even make jokes about it. They even made a COMEDY about people moving from the Tennessee hills to Beverly Hills! Ever see the Beverley hillbillies? A COMEDY, but it DOES show how poor they were, etc... Heck, they lived in a shack and tried to live off the land, etc... Even MALIBU, CA has shacks(REALLY!). There are effectively bums in venice beach, CA.

And there are the amish. They lead a VERY simple life, trying to keep to early 19th century technology. They generally only have to stay in school until the 8th grade. The US standard for others is the 12th grade. The amish probably simply put out fires like they do everything else. All for one so they whole community may do all they can to put out the fire. Of course, I DOUBT they would be so careless with fire. Ironically, by the way, using a fire dept would technically be illegal and against their religion! Illegal since they have an agreement that they won't accept/use such services, and they don't pay for them. Against their religion because it uses technology that they have SHUNNED!

The poor exist EVERYWHERE, why not the US also!?!?!? I've seen bums in DENMARK! DENMARK! There are old stories about very poor people in great britain also, and I have seen areas that obviously aren't high class.

Maybe you just see it so much thatt you miss it. The place that I spent most of my life was a nice middle class place. Last time I saw it, it was effectively a slum!

Still, it is interesting, as there is welfare, WIC, and lots of other programs. Various ministries help out. And $75 may sound like a lot of money, but compared to electricity, water, gas, general home upkeep, ***OR*** gasoline, other insurance, etc... it is CHEAP! And I didn't even mention the mortgage, R/E tax, etc.... HECK, I go for a flight, and the TAXES are over $75! So to say they can't pay the $75 is tantamount to saying they can't pay for the other things. If they can't do that, then what is the problem? I mean if they are living on the street ANYWAY, why should they be worried about paying to protect that nothing from fire? Even if they are making minimum wage, they should be able to get a 4 cent an hour raise to pay for it.

AND, if they manage their money well, they CAN get a credit card, and carry that $75 over until they can pay it off.

One ironic thing is there are a lot of idiots that run what are called "pay day loans". They typically charge about 10 times the interest a poor person is likely to pay on a credit card. In fact, they typically charge about 6 times the DEFAULT interest rate of credit cards! DEFAULT, in this case, means the interest rate the credit cards use if the card user fails to pay on time.
Their target market tends to be the POOR!

Steve

Yep...The owner was interviewed and that's what he said in the interview I watched...It's possible he's lying, but I'm not willing to make that claim without evidence.

Plus, not putting out a fire puts everyone and everything else in the area in danger. The guy also said fire fighters waited until the home next door was on fire, then put it out because THEY paid the $75.

If I lived next door and paid $75, you bet I'd want them to put out the guy's fire. I've taken enough fire fighting classes that you don't let fires burn. You put them out while you can.

The guy even said he offered to pay for the services if they put it out. Not just the $75, put the total costs. They let his house burn.

He also said the previous fire marshall would wave the fee and have people come in the next day and pay it, instead of having people lose their homes.

There's an element of this country this is losing its heart. It takes a very cold soul to stand by and watch a family's home burn down, being able to stop it and not do anything about it.

Normally, animals RUN from fire, which was my point.

Yes, it "happens" after but you pay before an event. Just like they put the fire out if you pay before it happens.

Notice I said they should change the policy. And it's not a county fire department. The guy lives in the county. Which is outside the city fire coverage area.
Not punished. Live with the choice made. As far as paying the costs after the fact, they couldn't make him. That wasn't the agreement. That was not listed in the bill.

He also didn't forget to pay. He has changed his story for public sympathy.

I have family in that town and I am from the area. I know a tad more about the situation .

That has happened. The city had to pay a lot of money.

JFYI: The news station linked to, doesn't tell most of the story.

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