Tennessee Firefighters Let Home Burn Over Subscription Issue

JASON HIBBS
WPSD
Reprinted with Permission

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.

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A local neighborhood is furious after firefighters watched as an Obion County, Tennessee, home burned to the ground.

The homeowner, Gene Cranick, said he offered to pay whatever it would take for firefighters to put out the flames, but was told it was too late. They wouldn't do anything to stop his house from burning.

Each year, Obion County residents must pay $75 if they want fire protection from the city of South Fulton. But the Cranicks did not pay.

The mayor said if homeowners don't pay, they're out of luck.

This fire went on for hours because garden hoses just wouldn't put it out. It wasn't until that fire spread to a neighbor's property, that anyone would respond.

Turns out, the neighbor had paid the fee.

"I thought they'd come out and put it out, even if you hadn't paid your $75, but I was wrong," said Gene Cranick.

Because of that, not much is left of Cranick's house.

They called 911 several times, and initially the South Fulton Fire Department would not come.

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

"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. Gene Cranick asked the fire chief to make an exception and save his home, the chief wouldn't.

We asked him why.

He wouldn't talk to us and called police to have us escorted off the property. Police never came but firefighters quickly left the scene. Meanwhile, the Cranick home continued to burn.

We asked the mayor of South Fulton if the chief could have made an exception.

"Anybody that's not in the city of South Fulton, it's a service we offer, either they accept it or they don't," Mayor David Crocker said.

Friends and neighbors said it's a cruel and dangerous city policy but the Cranicks don't blame the firefighters themselves. They blame the people in charge.

"They're doing their job," Paulette Cranick said of the firefighters. "They're doing what they are told to do. It's not their fault."

To give you an idea of just how intense the feelings got in this situation, soon after the fire department returned to the station, the Obion County Sheriff's Department said someone went there and assaulted one of the firefighters.

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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on October 7, 2010 at 12:10pm

If you'd brush up on the facts readily available here and elsewhere, those exceptions were reportedly made by the previous chief.

It's likely that is why he is the "previous" chief - if he made exceptions, then he was violating the city's policy. Fire officers get paid to enforce policy, not to violate it.

And as Art says, "Where's your proof?"

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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on October 7, 2010 at 12:17pm

Michael,

You missed several important facts here, the first being that the homeowner had the money to pay and CHOSE to skip the payment.

You also missed the point that the homeowner INTENTIONALLY built where there is NO fire department. The fire department in question was outside their jurisdiction and only provides fire protection to those who contract for their services outside the city limits.

So, why should the citizens of the City of South Fulton be required to pay for free fire protection for the residents of Obion County?

And to take your point to it's logical conclusion, when is New Zealand going to start funding fire services in the United States? After all, that's what you're asking South Fulton to do.

The only difference is one of scale.

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Permalink Reply by Jack/dt on October 7, 2010 at 12:45pm

Eric,

Hopefully you'll maintain that attitude of 'the right thing to do' and caring about your neighbors when election time rolls around. You at this point are morally obligated to vote for those candidates that believe in having a National Healthcare System. After all, it IS the right thing to do. Or do your principals only extend as far as your hand line?

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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on October 7, 2010 at 12:51pm

I doubt he'll respond, Art. He's been pretty good at ducking any direct questions on the matter.

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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on October 7, 2010 at 12:53pm

FETC, it's because some of the debaters post without learning the facts of the case and others are so bound and determined that their position is the only possible correct one that they can't see it any other way.

There are several voices of rationality here, and from all across the spectrum.

It's nice to know that Art isn't the only Voice of Reason here.

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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on October 7, 2010 at 12:57pm

FETC and Greg, too...

When people from our wide range of the spectrum agree on this issue, based on the facts, it tells me that rationality is on our side of the debate.

I'm on my way to purchase Powerball tickets.

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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on October 7, 2010 at 12:59pm

Amen, Art.

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Permalink Reply by Herb Genelly III on October 7, 2010 at 1:06pm

I think it was an honest/frank discussion, and one that, IMHO, folks thought that the system needs to be fixed/changed.

My whole issue with the decision made to let the home burn, is that it's biased. What I mean is, that if there's another homeowner not paying the fee/tax, but they are right next to homes that are covered, he gets his house fire extinguished due to the strategy and tactics involved to prevent the other homes from going up. (An EXCEPTION to the rule, so to speak)

My other beef with folks was, even though the guy didn't pay, he lost his home and possessions. But some posters didn't even take the effort of a few key strokes to say "It's always a tragedy when someone loses their home, whether it was their fault or not" Some here just went straight to "That guy deserved it".

The punishment didn't fit the crime IMHO. The good thing though, is that it created a debate on a national level. Hopefully good can come out of this. If we spend out time figuring out how to solve the problem, instead of laying blame, we make a difference.

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Permalink Reply by Márcio Teixeira on October 7, 2010 at 1:08pm

Hi
I have, some difficulty to understand this whole situation ... because in Portugal, never seen anything like this. I belong to the fire station of Faro, there is a fire or other emergency situation in the neighboring county .. we'll help people, and never ask .. never heard speak in such a situation. I do not want to know the fee ... I erase the fire, and voila!
So now I put a small question: if there is a family with few financial resources, and does not pay the fee, how? will burn everything?

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Permalink Reply by Art "ChiefReason" Goodrich on October 7, 2010 at 1:08pm

Ben:

I have been told that MSNBC reported that there had been FOUR previous retroactive payers. I don't know that they mentioned names, but I am sure that run sheets could provide that.

It's what I have been told. I have no first hand knowledge. It was never mentioned in any of the newscasts that I watched.