Firefighters looking for compensation before putting out a house fire

[i3igpete]

news from the homefront (buddy's parents live in the next town)

it was a double wide trailer and the fire started in the grass

they had plenty of time to get the pets out
they called 911 before the house caught on fire
and it was a dbl wide trailor

I asked him why they didn't just back the truck up to it and pull it down the street
he laughed

Dad said it wasn the first time they have let a house burn either

personally i hope there are charges of cruelty to animals, arson, and insurance fraud brought to this guy.

[Macky]

a bit off topic but one thing Id like to point out though, the FD here in my county seem to put their nose into all sorts of business, even when they technically arent needed. and they charge regardless too.

case in point, when my brother broke his arm, we called the paramedics. paramedics arrived (it was a private firm) but then moments later the FD came, fire truck and all, and the county paramedics too. I was like WTF? so besides being charged by the responding paramedics, the county paramedics charged us too (my brother wasnt covered by insurance at the time) and so did the county FD. and for what? that pissed me off. its almost they're itching to go out and do something.

sorry about the rant.

[CoreyB]

news from the homefront (buddy's parents live in the next town)



personally i hope there are charges of cruelty to animals, arson, and insurance fraud brought to this guy.

Just to clarify, are you saying the guy who just lost his home should have these charges brought on him or the fire chief ?

[NickS VR4]

Being a volunteer firefighter, I know we would run in and help, but it seems in this case the firefighters probably had their hands tied. Since there is an existing policy, if the firefighters went in, knowing they were not supposed to cover that house because of policy, they probably would not be covered by insurance. Say a firefighter gets hurt fighting that fire, the insurance company probably would not pay.

Its a crappy situation, but its a CYA (Cover your a**) type situation.

[i3igpete]

Just to clarify, are you saying the guy who just lost his home should have these charges brought on him or the fire chief ?

the guy who lost his home. the fire was intentionally started by his grandson, he failed to pay for fire protection, they (guy AND grandson) intentionally left the animals in the house to die when they had plenty of time to save them.

[Rah]

It also bears saying trailer homes burn FAST and are incredibly dangerous.

Not that it's an excuse but when it sounds like they watched it burn from beginning to end I'm sure it was a complete loss in a very short period of time.

There comes a point in any fire if big enough where it goes defensive any way. Not to say this was or was not the case but it a place is fully involved and nothing much will be salvageable the operation goes defensive and protects what we call 'exposures', i.e. the structures next to it.

To give you an idea of how it ranks, this is the priority scale:
Rescue
Exposures
Confine
Extinguish
Overhaul

[MADMarc]

Very nice. Seemed to spark a bit of a thread here. So many responses...so little time.

[Quick VR-4]

In responce to your first three notes, the FD went to the residence and watched.

You are mistaken. The FD did not respond to watch so they could laugh and point fingers. The neighbor had paid for protection so the FD was there to protect his property as the fire was spreading towards his place.

Is it sad...yes. Could it have been avoided if the cheap ass would have paid his $75...yes. What do you think would happen if they put fires out for everyone and then collect the $75 at the time of the fire? I am sure the majority of this rural FD's budget consist of these payments. If word got out they would put fires out regardless if you paid or not, what do you think their budget would drop to? What you are suggesting is similar to only paying for insurance when you had a wreck...how would that work?

[HilbillyHomeboy]

Is it sad...yes. Could it have been avoided if the cheap ass would have paid his $75...yes. What do you think would happen if they put fires out for everyone and then collect the $75 at the time of the fire? I am sure the majority of this rural FD's budget consist of these payments. If word got out they would put fires out regardless if you paid or not, what do you think their budget would drop to? What you are suggesting is similar to only paying for insurance when you had a wreck...how would that work?

This.

Jeremy

[ictponder]

I agree with the decision to let it burn down. Maybe this will be a lesson to everyone else thinking they can cheapskate the system.