quote:
Originally posted by Eastside:
I live in Florence so I am speaking from Florence perspective. However, if they applied this principal to their town they could recoup those fees the same way by attaching it to their water bill. No one lives without water. You might not pay your trash bill I guess.
I agree with leo. I normally am the defender of our Police and Fire and EMS providers and especially those that volunteer their time to do so, but in this case -- these men and women should be ashamed of their actions.
If you go to the hospital they can't turn you away if you need emergency services -- they bill you. The fire department should have done the same thing. If the guy still didn't pay, they could have filed a claim with his homeowner's insurance and attached to any settlement he might get. They could have billed his insurance or even billed their insurance and gotten paid I'm sure.
I hate debating with myself.
Seriously, though, many folks in the county use well water, so it would need to be the electric bill.
My father in law is an assistant fire chief and a volunteer FD, his brother is the chief, and they
personally would have never let it come to this. But they are an all volunteer force, no tax payer dollars, just grants and what they raise in fish frys.
A tax payer funded force has to answer to the tax payers that fund them. Unfortunately, this family was not.
Also, I doubt this family has insurance. Most insurance companies give customers a break if they have decent fire protection, so you would think that paying for fire protection ($75.00 a year) would earn you a discount. Someone without insurance wouldnt be too worried about that.
I think the key would be to put a lien on the property. However, the fire department has to have a legal leg to stand on. How does a fire department, responding outside of their territory, force anyone to pay for that service after the fact. The homeowner could go to court and say 'well, they shouldnt have been out here in the first place, so I shouldnt have to pay them.' Think it doesnt happen? It happens every day. People used to sue good samaritans all the time, before the laws preventing it were passed.
Remember, you are dealing with someone who assumed they were entitled to the service whether they payed for it or not. This is not your everyday, average citizen we are talking about here. Or maybe it is and thats the true problem.....