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South Fulton residence destroyed after fire department delays response

Failure to pay $75 fire subscription fee causes delay



http://www. fultonkynews. com/





By Mike Farmer



As neighbors used water hoses in an attempt to extinguish a house fire on Lakeview Drive, the South Fulton Fire Department was unable to respond to the call for assistance because the homeowner had not paid the seventy five dollar annual fire fee.











According to Fire Chief Tommy Smith, “If a county resident has not paid their fire subscription dues, then the department cannot respond.” Smith added that the South Fulton City Commission started this in 1990, and other departments including Martin and Union City have similar types of rural fire subscriptions.











Smith said that 911 dispatch notified them of the fire, and it was determined that the homeowner had not paid the required fee. The dispatch center then contacted the Martin, Union City, and Fulton Fire Departments to see if they would be able to respond, which none could since the fee had not been paid. The Fulton Fire Department only responds to county fires when a mutual aid request is received from another department.











Chief Smith said, “We could see the smoke from the station, and we were not able to respond until another call was received stating that other homes were involved.” At that time Smith notified 911 to page out the call under the assumption that one of the other residences had paid the fee. Upon arrival it was determined that no other structures were involved.











Smith estimates that it was approximately 5-10 minutes from the time the first call was received until they were able to respond. When they did respond, Smith requested the assistance of the Fulton, Martin, and Union City Fire Departments, which responded upon his request.











The structure was a total loss, and the department was on the scene for approximately four hours. Smith stressed the importance for county residents desiring fire protection to pay the subscription fee so they are able to respond.









CITIZENS RESPOND VIA ONLINE BLOG REGARDING THE ARTICLE.





http://www. fultonkynews. com/letterstotheeditor. html

Interesting...(read here..."horse shit")

If you don't want to deliver my paper because I have not paid the subscription fee, then fine...but this is nuts.  Maybe it's just me.

Nope...not just you.  This is nucking futs.

Liability? I would think so. I wouldn't be surprised if the FD doesn't end up in court over this.

OMG! this is crazy! couldnt they have worried about the fee later and responded to avoid a bigger liability, especially if smoke is already showing?

Sounds to me like the FD was more worried about the fees than saving lives....

They'll lose their ASS in court for sure & somebody will lose their job for giving the order not to respond.

You would THINK that the jurisdictions involved with this would have checked out the legal aspect of it beforehand...but I still have a problem with it.  It's one thing to not respond to a trash can or something but a house on fire? What about the people that may be inside ?

What a special form of negligence.

Extortion anyone?  that's what it sounds like to me. 

I'd be suing everyone from the county offices all the way down to the Fire Chief.

becca31 says ...

Extortion anyone?  that's what it sounds like to me. 

 

I'd be suing everyone from the county offices all the way down to the Fire Chief.

I agree with you. If someone can sue a city, a police department, and an officer I think they should be able to do this. Even if it is only a civil suit.

Sounds to me like their value for human life is $75 / # of Occupants....... Absolutely ridiculous.

We have something similar to this. If the Sapulpa Fire Department responds to a fire in the County, they will have to pay an hourly fee or subscribe, but they will always respond and just bill later.

I've seen this in use in various places in Oklahoma, but mostly the Tulsa area.  It all hinges on jurisdictional boundaries.  If a residence is out of the bounaries of all area fire departments, they can pay an annual fee for the possibility they might need the service.  If there's a fire, the closest fire departments will respond, but afterward, you might be getting a bill.  I live in a previously unincorporated area - at that time, the Rolling Hills Fire Department out of Catoosa would service the area, if necessary, but it would cost you.  We are now part of Broken Arrow and they come out for free.

If the city in the story has a similar plan, I would think they were legally covered.  Morally... not so much.

Chief Smith said, “We could see the smoke from the station, and we were not able to respond until another call was received stating that other homes were involved.”  WTF!?!?! I'm not one for law suits  but hell this one calls for it for sure! Crazy!!