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 Herb Genelly III on December 8, 2011 at 1:01am

Ben,

It's like the old Yogi Berra saying; It's like deja vu all over again! Hey bud...no worries, as I feel the same, and apologize to you too! Hope you're doing well, and stay safe my friend.

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Permalink Reply by Aric Stewart on December 8, 2011 at 1:59am

ok I have no bearing on the conversation but from my stand point i have fought fire in 2 different states now and have learned the upper management way of running both. In one state you didn't have to pay a town or township for fire protection due to the fact that there were 12 fire companies in one county so the county was very well covered. In the other state your township or burrough had to pay for fire protection. So how i see it, it would be the persons duty to make sure that their subscription is paid up for fire protection. And calling a fire department not fire fighters for not putting the fire out is just rude and inconsiderate. Remember these guys are like the rest of us and just following orders from the chief and the city gov't.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Might on December 8, 2011 at 11:34am

It is easy for you to say this until you get on the managemet side of things and understand what it truly takes to run a department. Let's put it in simple terms; the old Whimpy from Popeye saying "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamberger today" mentality doesn't work.

It is simple macro economics; if you don't have enough revenue to cover your expenses you cannot afford to operate. Had they went ahead and put the fire out what incentive do other residents have to pay their $75? The answer to that is simple; none! They will just expect a fire truck to show up when they have a fire.

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Permalink Reply by Herb Genelly III on December 8, 2011 at 11:48am

Nail + Head = Right! All it takes is 4.8 cents a day, and not a single home would be watched burning to the ground ever again. They'd rather pay $4.79 for a pack of cigarettes a day, than just 10% of that cost for Fire Protection. I hope it's worth it!