i like the idea! more of us should volunteer at the fire department in many ways. most cities even offer training so long as you commit to a few days a month on the job. if you volunteer, then you should not have to pay for any service because you help others as well as yourself.
but when it comes to personal responsiblity, where do you see that in society today? more and more folks keeps suing for the big pockets of others, when actually they were responsible. for example, i order coffee and it’s hot! there have been several other articles in IJ that we have talked about where the folks should take their lumps because it’s the lawyer looking for money no matter who’s paying. personal responsibility is a big thing as an almost forgotten trait.
Great idea Jane. And insurance carriers could give their insureds a plaque to hang on the front of their house to show they have fire insruance and the fee was paid; we could call them firemarks.
This was tried and proved problematic. The insurance company delys slightly at policy inception and the house burns down in the interim, the policy cancels for non-payment but the notification isn’t pulled.
$75 is a reasonable charge. A bill is sent, you stroke a check, done.
Tragic as this is, I must agree with all those who are able to objectively assess this incident. The Chief should not be fired. The Township did not act unfairly. The homeowner was at fault by not making the fire protection payment a priority by making the payment on time. A society cannot survive by picking up the tab for peoples inability to take responsibility for themselves. This is a lesson in that concept. Altruism is not the way the world operates.
People need to understand there are consequences to their own failures. This wasn’t the first time the guy failed to pay on time. In addition, he was under-insured so now he’s whining about the insurance money. Why did the agent allow him to go under-insured? The system needs to be reformed. Having a “list” is a throwback to the old “fire marks” of Ben Franklin’s era. EVERYBODY should be required to pay the fee. It shouldn’t be optional. That way, everybody’s property is protected. EVERYBODY can afford $75 a year. That’s .21 cents per day to protect your largest investment.
ok, if you want to use that logic, then let the homeless be homeless and do not offer them any medical care, a night indoors during the winter, a hot meal provided by salvation army and many other things…. many homeless can succeed if they put their minds to it. many have friends and relatives that don’t want to help them but would rather ignore them. how many of them do you see stand on the corner with a sign, but if you look them over – many are clean, clean clothes and just mispelled a word on the cardboard sign? some of them claim to be a VET and should be helped by the VA. if so, then why are they on the corner? makes you wonder about the personal responsibility.
are we that uncompassionate that we can’t help a neighbor? so what if it’s after the fact, they could easily have made the $75 like they had before. or at least, have them offer time at the firehouse as community service for services rendered.
remember the fire department is not a profit business, if it were, i think we are shorting ourselves. we are missing putting a better fire fighting system in place if it was. how many smaller fire departments don’t have an up-to-date equipment?
thing we have to remember it was a family and their home, INCLUDING THEIR PETS! a life is a life not matter. if you have to cover a brush fire that can cause damage to the wildlife and the farmland and other buildings, then you can cover this.
Really !!! That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard in my life. They let a family home burn because of $75.00. I think that needs to change. What if someone was in the home? Would they let them die? In light of the current state of economy, and so many Americans out of work, something needs to be done to change this. Shame on the peoople that watched their home, their life go up in smoke. Really !!! OMG !!!!
Woodkchuck: the analogy to helping out a homeless person is lost on me. These people weren’t homeless and they could afford the lousy $75.00 fee. It was THEIR RESPONSIBILITY to pay it ON TIME. Look what happened the first time they “forgot” and the dept. put out their chimney fire. They figured, what the hell, it worked then, it should work now. The fact that they were traveling and forgot is the cause of the problem. Where does covering peoples failurE to assume their own responsibility stop? The issues is always “who is going to pay?” Society shouldn’t have to compensate for individual failures. Responsible people are sick and tired of those who make mistakes and expect us to clean up their mess.
most homeless can do something about their lives and take responsibility and contribute back to society, instead try to rely on donations from the local charities from shelters to food. yet many can actually work but don’t want to! many can be taken in by relatives but they don’t want to! yet they want freedom to rely on others to assist them. but let’s foot the bill on those that are not but living in section 8 housing. how many of them can actually work but don’t because they love the free money the gov’t gives them. so, where does one own’s personal responsibilities come into play?
It’s ok not to have any personal responsibility. Look at the disasters. No flood insurance, FEMA will pay. I let my policy expire and now I have a claim, I should be able to pay late and have my claim paid. After all, as all liberals will repeat as a mantra, “it’s for the children.”
Did you even read the other 40 comments before yours? This was all addressed. All souls were safe, it was only property at risk. The fire dept charges a fee in advance. The homeowner chose not to pay it (for the second time – they had a fire before) and lost their home. It’s the insurance company that really got shafted here. Because of the homeowners negligence in failing to keep their fire protection current, they now have a total loss.
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i like the idea! more of us should volunteer at the fire department in many ways. most cities even offer training so long as you commit to a few days a month on the job. if you volunteer, then you should not have to pay for any service because you help others as well as yourself.
but when it comes to personal responsiblity, where do you see that in society today? more and more folks keeps suing for the big pockets of others, when actually they were responsible. for example, i order coffee and it’s hot! there have been several other articles in IJ that we have talked about where the folks should take their lumps because it’s the lawyer looking for money no matter who’s paying. personal responsibility is a big thing as an almost forgotten trait.
Great idea Jane. And insurance carriers could give their insureds a plaque to hang on the front of their house to show they have fire insruance and the fee was paid; we could call them firemarks.
This was tried and proved problematic. The insurance company delys slightly at policy inception and the house burns down in the interim, the policy cancels for non-payment but the notification isn’t pulled.
$75 is a reasonable charge. A bill is sent, you stroke a check, done.
Tragic as this is, I must agree with all those who are able to objectively assess this incident. The Chief should not be fired. The Township did not act unfairly. The homeowner was at fault by not making the fire protection payment a priority by making the payment on time. A society cannot survive by picking up the tab for peoples inability to take responsibility for themselves. This is a lesson in that concept. Altruism is not the way the world operates.
People need to understand there are consequences to their own failures. This wasn’t the first time the guy failed to pay on time. In addition, he was under-insured so now he’s whining about the insurance money. Why did the agent allow him to go under-insured? The system needs to be reformed. Having a “list” is a throwback to the old “fire marks” of Ben Franklin’s era. EVERYBODY should be required to pay the fee. It shouldn’t be optional. That way, everybody’s property is protected. EVERYBODY can afford $75 a year. That’s .21 cents per day to protect your largest investment.
ok, if you want to use that logic, then let the homeless be homeless and do not offer them any medical care, a night indoors during the winter, a hot meal provided by salvation army and many other things…. many homeless can succeed if they put their minds to it. many have friends and relatives that don’t want to help them but would rather ignore them. how many of them do you see stand on the corner with a sign, but if you look them over – many are clean, clean clothes and just mispelled a word on the cardboard sign? some of them claim to be a VET and should be helped by the VA. if so, then why are they on the corner? makes you wonder about the personal responsibility.
are we that uncompassionate that we can’t help a neighbor? so what if it’s after the fact, they could easily have made the $75 like they had before. or at least, have them offer time at the firehouse as community service for services rendered.
remember the fire department is not a profit business, if it were, i think we are shorting ourselves. we are missing putting a better fire fighting system in place if it was. how many smaller fire departments don’t have an up-to-date equipment?
thing we have to remember it was a family and their home, INCLUDING THEIR PETS! a life is a life not matter. if you have to cover a brush fire that can cause damage to the wildlife and the farmland and other buildings, then you can cover this.
Really !!! That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard in my life. They let a family home burn because of $75.00. I think that needs to change. What if someone was in the home? Would they let them die? In light of the current state of economy, and so many Americans out of work, something needs to be done to change this. Shame on the peoople that watched their home, their life go up in smoke. Really !!! OMG !!!!
Woodkchuck: the analogy to helping out a homeless person is lost on me. These people weren’t homeless and they could afford the lousy $75.00 fee. It was THEIR RESPONSIBILITY to pay it ON TIME. Look what happened the first time they “forgot” and the dept. put out their chimney fire. They figured, what the hell, it worked then, it should work now. The fact that they were traveling and forgot is the cause of the problem. Where does covering peoples failurE to assume their own responsibility stop? The issues is always “who is going to pay?” Society shouldn’t have to compensate for individual failures. Responsible people are sick and tired of those who make mistakes and expect us to clean up their mess.
i guess, ed, you have not figured everything out…
most homeless can do something about their lives and take responsibility and contribute back to society, instead try to rely on donations from the local charities from shelters to food. yet many can actually work but don’t want to! many can be taken in by relatives but they don’t want to! yet they want freedom to rely on others to assist them. but let’s foot the bill on those that are not but living in section 8 housing. how many of them can actually work but don’t because they love the free money the gov’t gives them. so, where does one own’s personal responsibilities come into play?
It’s ok not to have any personal responsibility. Look at the disasters. No flood insurance, FEMA will pay. I let my policy expire and now I have a claim, I should be able to pay late and have my claim paid. After all, as all liberals will repeat as a mantra, “it’s for the children.”
Hey gang..
I haven’t paid my water bill in a while. I called the city and they gave me an extention but I decided to pay my cell phone bill instead.
Today, after several times calling, they refuse to turn on my water.
Everyone in my home has become very “parched” as of late… infact my cat died yesterday.
(RIP Mr. Snugglesworth. His thirst for life was never quenched.)
City should’ve turned my water back on instead of sitting there doing nothing. The city is insensitive, cruel to animals, and my community is selfish.
Infact, now that I think about it – my life insurance company should pay my water bill.
Am I right or am I right? Who is with me?
Did you even read the other 40 comments before yours? This was all addressed. All souls were safe, it was only property at risk. The fire dept charges a fee in advance. The homeowner chose not to pay it (for the second time – they had a fire before) and lost their home. It’s the insurance company that really got shafted here. Because of the homeowners negligence in failing to keep their fire protection current, they now have a total loss.