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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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- WPSD: Firefighters Watch as Home Burns to the Ground
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- MSNBC: No pay, no spray: Firefighters let home burn
FireEMSBlogs.com Updates
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.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on
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Billy,
I understand the definitions. I'm unclear on how you're trying to apply them to the conversation.
Do you have any explanation to add to your post above?
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Permalink Reply by Fireslayer960 on
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Chief, that link doesnt seem to work for me. Can you give me an area where I might go look for it?
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Permalink Reply by Billy Lilly on
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Ill exsplain this better too you. They made an example out of the guy. So everyone would pay this fee. Which kinda fits into the defenition of extortion. the point i was trying to make and show you. Was i can use that just as much as you're bribe theory. And chief no. I'm just trying to make a point to ben. Sorry you took it wrong. I blame all parties involved. The town the county the fire chief and firefighters. It's like one person said. They were already there. So it's no exscuse for them not putting out the fire. I have always been taught you should be proactive not reactive. Hence if they would have put the house fire out. they woudnt have has exsposures the the subscribers house. So then in all actuality they were helping a subscriber out by stopping the exsposures before they happend. Becuase if i payed my subscription and my house burned down becuase the fire department wouldnt put out the fire next door to me. becuase they didnt pay a subscription. Then hell yeah i would have been pissed. becuase they could have prevented my house burning down. same go's for if my house would catch fire to to the same reason.
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Dear chief. I agree with you. But the point i was trying to make to Ben was that I could make the same case for extortion. As he has bribery. But this 8000 dollar budget is screwed up. But heres the question I have. Do they ever do fundraisers to get more money ? Plus the problem is see is this. You pay youre $75 for fire protection. You never have a fire. Are these people saying its fair to the guy who pays his money to be funding a fire department in a town. And he never needs them. I keep hearing its not fair to the ones who pay for this fire fee. For the fire department to put out a fire a non paying memmber. And how its not fare to the the town who pays there taxes in the town. The point i'm trying to make is it fair to the guy who payed his fee and never needed the fire department. To be funding this fire department every year to fight fires in the town. I just think this system is messed up. No matter how you look at it. Its not fair to someone. Like i said i Blame all involved. The county, the town, the firechief ands firefighters. My thing is it makes all firefighters look bad.
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Billy,
The SFFD provided service to the property owner with whom they had a contractual obligation.
They did not provide service to the property owner with whom they had no contractual obligation.
That doesn't fit the definition of extortion at all.
"They were already there. So it's no exscuse for them not putting out the fire."
They don't need an excuse. They had a valid, legal reason to do exactly what they did.
They did exactly what they were supposed to do, based on the system that's in place.
The homeowner in question is pissed off, but he has no one but himself to blame either for not paying his subscription, for letting an intentional fire on his property get out of hand in the first place, or for his false assumption that he was entitled to free fire protection while his neighbors paid for theirs.
"I have always been taught you should be proactive not reactive." I agree. The SFFD was proactive. They sent the homeowner several notices that his subscription was in arrears, and they carried him as a subscriber for quite some time without him paying anything before they dropped him from their subscriber list.
You might not like the system, but it's provided effective fire protection in that area on a very minimal budget for a very long time.
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Billy,
The city taxpayers fund the SFFD to fight fires in town through their city taxes.
The county subscribers don't "pay his money to be funding a fire department in a town".
The county subscribers are paying their fee in case they have a fire on their property.
I have a question for you? Why is this not fair to someone? Everyone in this situation gets exactly what they pay for. That sounds like a fair way to provide fire protection in an area where the county taxpayers have indicated over and over that they don't want a county fire department and that they don't want a tax increase to pay for universal county fire protection.
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Yes ben but there paying for a service. Every year that they might get. But might not get. All depends on if they have a fire. So yes they are helping fund a fire department. Are they not paying the town for fire protection. That if they dont have a fire. Are they still getting a service they payed for.
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Permalink Reply by WestPhilly on
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Billy,
Do I have this right? You're making the argument that it's somehow "unfair" for those who have paid for fire protection, but have the misfortune to actually NOT have a fire?
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Billy,
The short answer is that it's as fair as fair can be for anyone who pays for fire protection - city taxpayers and county subscribers alike.
Do you think it's unfair for you to pay for automobile insurance every year, even if you don't have a wreck?
Do you think it's unfair for you to pay for health insurance, even if you don't get sick?
This works the same way. The taxpayers in the City of South Fulton are paying taxes for their fire department, whether they have a fire or not. The South Fulton subscribers out in the county are doing exactly the same thing.
The city taxes and county subscription fees are pooled to reduce the risk for everyone who has contributed. The funding sources are different, but the coverage is the same.
The city taxes and county fees both go to make the fire protection available. Whether you need that protection in a given year or not, you have still paid to ensure that the service is there just in case you need it.
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I agree at some point with what you're saying. But what i'm saying is its a bad system. Were not in the 1920's no more. What i'm trying to say is maybe thats how homeowners feel down there. Okay say theres someone who lives down there for 20 years. they pay 19 years worth of them fees. They dont pay year 20's fee. They have given the town $1,425 for a service . There house catchs fire in year 20. Do they deserve to watch there house burn down. Becuase they sure did pay for 19 years.
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WhAT I'M SAYING IS THE SYSTEM THEY HAVE SUCKS. It's not the 1920's no more. I'm saying theres other ways to get money. I guess what i'm saying is this. Is this fire department trying to get more money to help there cause. or are they just relying on this $8,000 budget. I mean i read somewhere that the town is building this great big law enforcement complex. Is this true. It also was stated that this $75 subscription fee was being used to build it.
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Billy,
I don't think their system is considered the best possible system by any firefighter, including the fire chiefs in Obion County, the firefighters, or other firefighters who have commented by the hundreds.
However...it is the system that the local citizens want, and it's the only system that they've demonstrated that they will fund.
If the local taxpayers will not consent to pay additional money for fire protection, then there really isn't another way to get money for the county part of the operation. What do you want the South Fulton city firefighters to do - have bake sales to fund fire protection outside of their city?
You did read somewhere that the town is building a big law enforcement complex. I'm not sure that information is correct. The law enforcement complexunder constructionthat looks as if it's brand new is the Obion County Law Enforcement Center. That indicates that county taxes, not city taxes or the subscription fees are/were being used to fund the L.E. Center. From what I can find, the LE Center is now open, and it has "Obion County" all over it. The City of South Fulton's site is down, so I can't verify anything from the city's standpoint right now.
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