I think this is the most passionate discourse I’ve ever seen on IJ. Lots of strong opinions on opposing sides, each with a valid argument to make. Most have been civil, even when attacked. A few have resorted to name-calling. Why is it that we all feel so strongly about right and wrong here, so much so that we cannot accept that both sides have rights and faults? Surely as insurance professionals and fellow humans, we can have respect for each other’s opinions even if we aren’t in agreement. Can’t we agree to disagree without becoming disagreeable ourselves?
I will tell you why some I am name calling here: because I cannot for the life of me see how a fire department equipped and ready can stand to watch a fire burn down a house and most of the accumulated possessions of a family and refuse to do anything when it is fully in their power. Anyone that condones such behavior, especially by a governmental organization whose function, purpose and mission is to save lives and property REGARDLESS of $75 dollar fees or the humble acceptance of the homeowners, is an idiot. I cannot wrap my brain around this in any way. Hopefully, I never will because I surely will not be able to like the person that stares back at me in the mirror each morning.
But can’t you see that by resorting to name calling you say more about yourself than the people you’re calling idiots? Everyone that sees it differently from you can’t be an idiot just because you don’t agree with them. That logic isn’t worthy.
$75 a year is not that much at all! How else do you suppose the City FD is to fund themselves. If they are running calls in the County, they’d use all their yearly budget real quick if homeowners outside the city limits didn’t pay the $75, but depended on their services.The COUNTY needs to step up and fund a FD or every resident needs to fork over the $75 a year. You listen to this guy on the videos and he makes it sound like it’s all the FD’s fault, but years ago espically in the North if you didn’t pay your fire preimums then they would do the same thing. Those departments would not put out your fire, and this was a normal thing. A lot of volunteer depts do this all the time, even now. AND the homeowner’s son Assulted the City Fire Chief! “I just forgot to pay my $75,” is not acceptable, you wouldn’t forget to pay your homeowner’s insurance preimum and then expect them to pay for your properity because you “forgot to pay?” A major insurance company would be the same way the City FD was, and not recieve ANY negative publicity.
By the way, No HUMAN life was at stake, therefore no action needed. Not to sound cold, but I’m not dying for your fido! Who’s going to explain to my children that I died because your dog/ cat/ other family pet was in a burining house?
I respect their right to disagree, but for heaven’s sake, sometimes there are things that are just WRONG and STUPID. As I said, I cannot imagine having an equippped and ready FD stand around and watch someone’s home burn to the ground over a $75 fee. Again, this is REALLY beyond my comprehension. And I think it was cruel…an effort shoulod have been made.
Many of those arguing so vehemently that the homewoner deserved what he got will someday need to depend on the kindness of strangers…we all do, sooner or later in this life. I hope they remember the hard line they took with others as they reach out to the offered helping hand…
Cassandra – Of course it would have been better if there was a different policy in place in that locale, but the fact is this has been the policy for at least 10 years – don’t pay, you don’t get service. If the FD had ignored this and put out the fire, would you have stepped up to pay their mortgages if they got fired? Don’t forget, services in remote areas are just not the same as in the city or suburbs. It is simply a fact of life. Sorry but you sound like some of the people who said homeowners in New Orleans should get money to rebuild even though they didn’t buy flood insurance or even homeowners. It’s a tough thing to see someone become homeless, but sometimes it is because they made poor decisions. When that happens, they need to own up to their mistakes, as this family seems to be doing.
This is what we’ll be looking at if the Republicans get their way. They want to privatize every aspect of social services — from our school system to the postal service.
If someone breaks into your house, but you haven’t paid for the private-sector-run police service because you lost your job, you’ll just be robbed and maybe murdered.
in the original article it stated that the reason the fd responded was only because of the brush fire that might happen but was not allowed to save the house…
ok, so they sat there and watch the house burn and did not have to handle any brush fire… so did they waste time/money and energy to respond anyways? who has to pay for that? not the homeowner!! so now that we wasted all this valuable resources to sit, why not have used it to save property as the code of any true fire department and that includes lives of any living thing (PETS!) afterall, how many times have we heard the fd get called for a cat in the tree?
if someone breaks into my home and i am not there but i see lights on in the house, am i calling the PD? YES! will they respond? YES! will they enter the property and secure it and take the robber/burglar into custody? YES! so why do we do differently to the FD and a fire to property?
and for those folks think that pets don’t count, don’t run over my cat or dog, because i will sue for my losses….
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I think this is the most passionate discourse I’ve ever seen on IJ. Lots of strong opinions on opposing sides, each with a valid argument to make. Most have been civil, even when attacked. A few have resorted to name-calling. Why is it that we all feel so strongly about right and wrong here, so much so that we cannot accept that both sides have rights and faults? Surely as insurance professionals and fellow humans, we can have respect for each other’s opinions even if we aren’t in agreement. Can’t we agree to disagree without becoming disagreeable ourselves?
“We are so blessed because no one was hurt”
Well, you know, minus the two dogs and cat who slowly burned to death in the house.
I will tell you why some I am name calling here: because I cannot for the life of me see how a fire department equipped and ready can stand to watch a fire burn down a house and most of the accumulated possessions of a family and refuse to do anything when it is fully in their power. Anyone that condones such behavior, especially by a governmental organization whose function, purpose and mission is to save lives and property REGARDLESS of $75 dollar fees or the humble acceptance of the homeowners, is an idiot. I cannot wrap my brain around this in any way. Hopefully, I never will because I surely will not be able to like the person that stares back at me in the mirror each morning.
But can’t you see that by resorting to name calling you say more about yourself than the people you’re calling idiots? Everyone that sees it differently from you can’t be an idiot just because you don’t agree with them. That logic isn’t worthy.
$75 a year is not that much at all! How else do you suppose the City FD is to fund themselves. If they are running calls in the County, they’d use all their yearly budget real quick if homeowners outside the city limits didn’t pay the $75, but depended on their services.The COUNTY needs to step up and fund a FD or every resident needs to fork over the $75 a year. You listen to this guy on the videos and he makes it sound like it’s all the FD’s fault, but years ago espically in the North if you didn’t pay your fire preimums then they would do the same thing. Those departments would not put out your fire, and this was a normal thing. A lot of volunteer depts do this all the time, even now. AND the homeowner’s son Assulted the City Fire Chief! “I just forgot to pay my $75,” is not acceptable, you wouldn’t forget to pay your homeowner’s insurance preimum and then expect them to pay for your properity because you “forgot to pay?” A major insurance company would be the same way the City FD was, and not recieve ANY negative publicity.
By the way, No HUMAN life was at stake, therefore no action needed. Not to sound cold, but I’m not dying for your fido! Who’s going to explain to my children that I died because your dog/ cat/ other family pet was in a burining house?
Tragic
I respect their right to disagree, but for heaven’s sake, sometimes there are things that are just WRONG and STUPID. As I said, I cannot imagine having an equippped and ready FD stand around and watch someone’s home burn to the ground over a $75 fee. Again, this is REALLY beyond my comprehension. And I think it was cruel…an effort shoulod have been made.
Many of those arguing so vehemently that the homewoner deserved what he got will someday need to depend on the kindness of strangers…we all do, sooner or later in this life. I hope they remember the hard line they took with others as they reach out to the offered helping hand…
Cassandra – Of course it would have been better if there was a different policy in place in that locale, but the fact is this has been the policy for at least 10 years – don’t pay, you don’t get service. If the FD had ignored this and put out the fire, would you have stepped up to pay their mortgages if they got fired? Don’t forget, services in remote areas are just not the same as in the city or suburbs. It is simply a fact of life. Sorry but you sound like some of the people who said homeowners in New Orleans should get money to rebuild even though they didn’t buy flood insurance or even homeowners. It’s a tough thing to see someone become homeless, but sometimes it is because they made poor decisions. When that happens, they need to own up to their mistakes, as this family seems to be doing.
This is what we’ll be looking at if the Republicans get their way. They want to privatize every aspect of social services — from our school system to the postal service.
If someone breaks into your house, but you haven’t paid for the private-sector-run police service because you lost your job, you’ll just be robbed and maybe murdered.
How does that society sound to you.
ok. let’s throw another wrench in the works…
in the original article it stated that the reason the fd responded was only because of the brush fire that might happen but was not allowed to save the house…
ok, so they sat there and watch the house burn and did not have to handle any brush fire… so did they waste time/money and energy to respond anyways? who has to pay for that? not the homeowner!! so now that we wasted all this valuable resources to sit, why not have used it to save property as the code of any true fire department and that includes lives of any living thing (PETS!) afterall, how many times have we heard the fd get called for a cat in the tree?
if someone breaks into my home and i am not there but i see lights on in the house, am i calling the PD? YES! will they respond? YES! will they enter the property and secure it and take the robber/burglar into custody? YES! so why do we do differently to the FD and a fire to property?
and for those folks think that pets don’t count, don’t run over my cat or dog, because i will sue for my losses….
It sounds like an imaginary world to me. The same one where republicans poison the water and the air and make old people eat dog food. Get real.