Government Lets Citizen's House Burn Down Over $75 Fee

Chris | InformationLiberation
Oct. 04, 2010

This story is being reported all over the place. I see absolutely nowhere confirming this was in any way a privately run fire department. Instead this "fee" was for residents slightly outside of their tax jurisdiction, it was optional to get their "services" to their state run fire department.

To assume any private organization, which is only charging $75 a year, would not put the fire out when the man could so clearly compensate them well over $75 is absolutely ridiculous (especially considering they were already there for his neighbor).

Regardless, libertarians/anarcho-capitalists believe the fire departments should be run by the fire insurers, because they have a direct incentive to minimize damages to peoples homes because they will have to pay out the more damage is done. The fire insurance company told the man they would fulfill his policy in full, I assure you they would have rather paid some firefighters to minimize the damages instead.

It should also be noted, "government" is the agency which claims to be here to help and motivated by things other than the "evil" profit motive. While I have no qualms with the idea "you get what you pay for," and hold no sense of entitlement to other people's labor, statists *do* have a sense of entitlement to others labor and they praise the nature of the state because it's "above" the profit motive and is somehow only motivated by love for their fellow man. This shows so clearly the supposedly altruistic "public servants" don't give a damn. - Chris

I saw this watching Keith Olbermann's show, he said it was what life would be like if the tea party wins, implying this is some perfect example of the evils of libertarianism.

Of course, the opposite is true.

This is what happens when you let the government run your "protection" services. They let your house burn down despite you saying you'll pay them for their services. That's the spiteful, disgusting nature of an entitled government parasite.

Olbermann asked the man whose house burned down if insurance was going to pay for it, the man said indeed "they were going to take care of him" and fulfill his policy. Olbermann cut him off right after, I guess it didn't suit his "evil capitalist" narrative.

WPSD Local Reports:

OBION COUNTY, Tenn. - Imagine your home catches fire but the local fire department won't respond, then watches it burn. That's exactly what happened to a local family tonight.

[...]

The Cranicks told 9-1-1 they would pay firefighters, whatever the cost, to stop the fire before it spread to their house. [Emphasis added]

"When I called I told them that. My grandson had already called there and he thought that when I got here I could get something done, I couldn't," Paulette Cranick.

It was only when a neighbor's field caught fire, a neighbor who had paid the county fire service fee, that the department responded.

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Update: Here is the Olbermann clip: