Wow, I don't care how remote your living area is, if your government doesn't provide basic emergency service, what do they do then?

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You ain't much, if you ain't Dutch.

But in USA we believe in small government, low tax, and privatization. You don't get free lunch in this country let alone free fire service.

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The Kingdom of God is within you, not in buildings of wood and stone. - Gospel of Thomas

Wow, the same happened here in denmark but thanksfully it was about 120km* away from where i lived.

*74.56 miles

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I Flawless
No, you don't get it, thats why I'm telling you. You think you get it, which isn't the same as actually getting it. Get it? - Kakashi Hatake

I completely agree with the Firefighters in this case. America is NOT a bail-out country, but we're getting closer and closer to becoming one. Too many are living off of wellfare without good reason. Too many are relying on government to save their sorry asses when they screw the pooch financially. Get a job, bums.

It was a measly $75.
The guy even stated that he wouldn't pay the fee because he assumed they'd save his house in case of fire. I have no sympathy for this man.

@iKermit,
Would you really sacrifice your own LIFE for a cat or dog?

Also, the entire family was outside and safe from the fire. No lives were in danger due to the fire.

EDIT: "South Fulton's mayor said that the fire department can't let homeowners pay the fee on the spot, because the only people who would pay would be those whose homes are on fire"

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Thank god i live in the UK. Sure, tax is an arse, but free public services (healthcare, fire cover, education) make up for it, and i expect on average, we actually pay less than the same coverage costs in the USA....

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There is a village, which is hidden in the shadow of a mountain.
Everybody is suffering from a lack of light.
One day, the eldest of this village leaves for the mountain with a teaspoon in his hands.
The others ask him what he intends to do.
He replies that he is going to move the mountain.
"But you will never succeed!" they cry out.
"No, i will never succeed, but somebody has to start."

~~~The Wising Up Song - Misty's Big Adventure

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Kikori wrote:

Runevillage the forum is pretty well much done. Runevillage the group will eventually die, but as long as we're still friends with each other in the end, it's still a pretty big thought in our heads. Runevillage the family is forever, no matter where we settle down. If absolutely nothing else ever comes of Runevillage in the future, that alone is a pretty damn awesome thought.

This attitude is why Britain isn't doing well financially. Government services are never free. the only reason it would possibly be cheaper is that the UK is 60 million people or so crowded into a small area - creating efficiency in delivery that is impossible in the US.

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You forget that money is more important to humans than anything else in existence.

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Imagine a perfect hideaway
Without a time
Imagine a perfect Eden
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"Feeling lonely and content at the same time,
I believe, is a rare kind of happiness"

I agree with the half of the people in this thread that say the fire department was within their rights (the rules are there for a reason, after all, and for good reason at that) but I see no reason whatsoever why they shouldn't accept some large sum of money to be able to put out the fire on the spot. Like Jackstick said, just having the option to pay $1,000-$5,000 to save your house would be well worth it, especially in a case like this where the guy didn't at least not pay on purpose, but rather forgot to pay.

(Though, "forgot" was in quotation marks in the article. If he didn't pay on purpose he should've been thinking about what it means to refuse fire department services. )

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.Legendary themed months are back! Maybe.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The firefighters at that station should lose their jobs, and/or be shot

But to avoid people only paying for it when they need it, there should be a heavy penalty imposed, as has been suggested.

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Something tells me you would have an entirely different opinion if this was your house. Why do you feel the need to sound so aggressive? This family just lost everything. Lose the tough-guy attitude and try to have a shred of sympathy for these people.

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Of course it would be different, if my house burned down I expect Obama to personally visit the disaster area, and use taxpayers' money to rebuild it. But the reality is the fee has been there for 20 years, the man should pay it long time ago, and firefighters should just put out the fire and issue a bill or something, but he didn't and their didn't, no real winners here, unless both learned a lesson there.

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Since Jan 17, 2008


The Kingdom of God is within you, not in buildings of wood and stone. - Gospel of Thomas

I understand the reality and I agree with Znath's post, what I'm mainly upset about is how Wolfwood felt the need to go out of his way to express his lack of sympathy. It's possible to agree with the firefighters and still have sympathy for the family, it's not like they're bad people - they made a stupid mistake and lost everything because of it. Not every family can be on top of payments or even have the money to make these payments, to call them 'bums' while they're down is not only insensitive but also ignorant considering Wolfwood probably doesn't know anything about this family. No family deserves to lose their home because of a bad mistake.

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According to my information AND a quote, he didn't pay the fee because he assumed America is a bail-out country and the firefighters would put the fire out in anycase, whether he paid or not.
I'm glad the firefighters didn't do anything, because this is a lesson learned for all. Pay the damn fee. I will NOT stand by and pay for someone's half-million dollar stupid tax. Don't take me for a fool. People like this man piss me off. Always assuming someone is going to cover their ass.
When you get down to it, firefighting is a buisiness. Buisinesses can't run without money to pay for their employees. Where does the money come from? The people who are receiving services. You get what you pay for, and this guy didn't pay for anything. Rather, he paid his stupid tax with his house.

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I rather enjoy these value judgements with absolutely no concrete information about the pathos of the home-owning party in question. It's almost like a sort of attribution. One that's fundamental in nature. Perhaps even an error...

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Imagine a perfect beach
Without a mermaid
Imagine a perfect hideaway
Without a time
Imagine a perfect Eden
Without a friend, without a serpent
"Feeling lonely and content at the same time,
I believe, is a rare kind of happiness"

So... Say your house burned down, and you paid taxes. The firefighters came after a 911 call, and they said "Nah, you're not on our list, we're just gonna roast marshmellows" as your house and belongings, and pets burned to ash. Would you look back afterwards and say "Damn, well at least everyone else can look at me and learn from my mistake"?

No. You'd be angry at the firefighters for not doing their job over a small 75$ fee. You'd be angry because there was no alternative to paying the fee, in addition to taxes you probably already have to pay to the government and town.

Walk a mile in someone else's shoes before you go off talking , no really, try it.

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Is irritated that calling a moron a moron is grounds for post deletion.

http://www.wowarmory.com/character-shee ... =Delonyera

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Hm. Yeah, someone needs to simmer down and be a little less heartless in the expression of their opinions.

That said, I also have to side with the firefighters in THEORY. Was it ridiculous for them to let the house burn over a 75 dollar fee? Probably. Would they have went in if someone was trapped inside? Therein lies the real question. Who would win that court case? "You could have saved them, you're responsible for manslaughter" vs "They didn't pay their fees".

This would be like having PLPD or you don't have collision coverage and getting into an accident, then trying to make a claim and have your car repaired or be reimbursed for it's value if it were beyond repair. You can't just say "But I'll pay for full coverage now or from now on, fix my car!" They're going to say screw you, buddy.

It boils down to taking the risk of not paying the fee or having whatever coverage. If you're a homeowner and have decided you don't need something obscure like explosion damage coverage, and then an explosion happens, don't frickin cry about it. Same with these people. Tragic, yes, but they failed to cover themselves and they got burned, literally. Live and learn. Too many people have that "Oh, I don't need (X), that could never happen to me," type of mentality and then when it does, they get bent out of shape. It's nothing but an oversight or poor choice on their own part.

For the record, if that were my house, I'd be kicking myself in the ass for not paying the fee, I wouldn't be pissing and moaning to anyone who'll listen. I've had crap stolen out of my car because I left the doors unlocked. Who's fault is that? Mine or the thief's? I could have easily prevented it, so it's my fault. I learned to lock the doors on my car, these people will learn to pay their fees or better insure themselves. Plain and simple.

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Their job is to protect houses that have paid.

Think of it another way. Say you wreck your car - pick a reason why; crash into a ditch, back into a lamppost, whatever. Say you don't have/didn't pay your car insurance. Would you be flipping your excrement at the auto insurance company then? I would hope not.

To put it more simply, think of it as fire insurance. Sure, your fire insurance is paid for depending on where you live. This is not one of those places.

THIEF

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I simply can't make the connection between wrecking a car and having your house destroyed and pets killed in a fire...

I like the "at least government as possible" to a certain extent, but it is complete rubbish in my opinion when you're talking about vital services such as police and fire fighting (and health care to a certain extent). For all they know there could've been another house right next to it, where they paid, that would also burn down due to this. A system like this just has too many ways to go wrong to be effective.

Either way, I *can* understand the decision. Extinguishing the fire would result in a precedent that people don't have to pay (paying a fine would be a solution). But as I said: the whole system itself is rubbish.

Greetings,
Glodenox

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