More Christian "kindness" helps to remind us what this season REALLY means:

[zappasguitar]

So much for basic Christian "kindness"...


Fire dept. watches home burn because family didn’t pay fee


Firefighters in one Tenn. county watched this week as a family’s home burned to the ground, refusing to take action to save the structure because the residents had not paid their yearly $75 fee.

Homeowner Vicky Bell told a reporter with NBC affiliate station Local 6 WPSD that she immediately called 9-1-1 when the fire began, and emergency crews rushed to the scene.

Unfortunately for Bell, once firefighters arrived they realized that the family had not contributed to the department this year, so they stood down — exactly as instructed to by the City of South Fulton’s “pay for spray” policy.


Due to budget cuts, residents of rural areas outside the city limits have to pay the city for fire protection, or face potential disaster.

Shocking as that sounds, it is not unheard of in Obion County: the very same thing happened in Oct. of last year, even as the homeowner frantically offered to pay anything if they’d help save her home.

“We are a city fire department,” city manager Jeff Vowell said at the time. “We are responsible for the City of South Fulton and we offer a subscription (to rural residents). If they choose not to, we can’t make them.”

The policy has been publicly condemned by the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF), which called South Fulton’s practice “ill-advised” and “unsafe.”

“[Firefighters] shouldn’t be forced to check a list before running out the door to see which homeowners have paid up,” the IAFF said.

In a similarly shocking incident this past August, police and firemen in Alameda, Calif. stood by and watched a man drown because they did not have enough money to pay for shore-to-water rescue certifications.


They later recruited a civilian to retrieve the man’s lifeless body from the surf, and officials cited the incident as reason to change their policies.

The same, unfortunately, cannot be said of South Fulton, Tenn.

[cawacko]

It's quite possible I read over it but where did it say anything about Christians?


Edit: If this is a similar story to what happened last year someone could probably grave dig threads and pull it up. I believe a couple were started. I can't imagine people's opinion will have changed much from then.

[leaningright]

I thought the same thing Cawacko. I just figured someone must have read "Tennessee" and interpreted that as "Christian." As a volunteer firefighter, this is a stupid policy. I read about this yesterday and remember the incident from last year too. Dumb.

[SmarterthanYou]

despite the fact that 'christianity' isn't anywhere in the article, I find it extremely ironic that liberals are bitching about needing to raise taxes and if you don't like higher taxes, don't use gov services. yet we're bitching about that very thing because these people didn't pay a gov fee and had their house burn down. irony

[zappasguitar]

It's quite possible I read over it but where did it say anything about Christians?


Edit: If this is a similar story to what happened last year someone could probably grave dig threads and pull it up. I believe a couple were started. I can't imagine people's opinion will have changed much from then.

Well, unless you can show me stats indicating this one county is predominantly Muslim, then I'm betting most of those Firefightes, not to mention the County Officials in charge of putting those reprehensible policies in place, call themselves Christians.

[zappasguitar]

despite the fact that 'christianity' isn't anywhere in the article, I find it extremely ironic that liberals are bitching about needing to raise taxes and if you don't like higher taxes, don't use gov services. yet we're bitching about that very thing because these people didn't pay a gov fee and had their house burn down. irony

We get lectured to, over and over, that this country was founded on and our laws based on "Christian Principles".

I'm just pointing out that those "principles" don't look very "Christian" when they allow the people entrusted with putting out fires to stand by while someone's home and everything they own BURNS TO THE GROUND.

[cawacko]

I wonder if this was a conservative Republican family who voted against increasing taxes and thus instead of being pitied (sp?) should be used as example of what happens as a result?

[PostmodernProphet]

Well, unless you can show me stats indicating this one county is predominantly Muslim, then I'm betting most of those Firefightes, not to mention the County Officials in charge of putting those reprehensible policies in place, call themselves Christians.

you do have a point.....that's the same logic I use to say that you're a Christian.....after all, you live in the United States and it's predominantly Christian......

[NOVA]

Well, unless you can show me stats indicating this one county is predominantly Muslim, then I'm betting most of those Firefightes, not to mention the County Officials in charge of putting those reprehensible policies in place, call themselves Christians.

Well, in that case, unless you can show me stats indicating this one county is predominantly Republican, then I'm betting most of those Firefighters, not to mention the County Officials in charge of putting those reprehensible policies in place, call themselves Democrats.....

[NOVA]

We get lectured to, over and over, that this country was founded on and our laws based on "Christian Principles".

I'm just pointing out that those "principles" don't look very "Christian" when they allow the people entrusted with putting out fires to stand by while someone's home and everything they own BURNS TO THE GROUND.

Lifes a bitch.....if you don't pay for the goods or a service, you don't get the goods or the service.....is that news to pinheads?....Life-101

[zappasguitar]

Well, in that case, unless you can show me stats indicating this one county is predominantly Republican, then I'm betting most of those Firefighters, not to mention the County Officials in charge of putting those reprehensible policies in place, call themselves Democrats.....

South Fulton City Officials
David Crocker Mayor 2008-2012
Charles Moody City CommissionerWard 1 2008-2012
Tony Ray Perry City CommissionerWard 2 2006-2010
Thomas Pettigrew City CommissionerWard 3 2006-2010
Keith Curlin City CommissionerWard 4 2008-2012


http://www.obiongop.com/?page_id=85

[zappasguitar]

Lifes a bitch.....if you don't pay for the goods or a service, you don't get the goods or the service.....is that news to pinheads?....Life-101

How much did Jesus charge the multitude he fed?

Nice to see you highlighting those Christian teachings for all to see.

[cawacko]

Since we are surmising about religion here we could channel our inner Eric Cartman and his 'tolerance' for other religions by guessing that the family was Jewish and too cheap to pay the fee or maybe the firefighters were Jewish and wouldn't do the work without getting paid.

[NOVA]

How much did Jesus charge the multitude he fed?

Nice to see you highlighting those Christian teachings for all to see.

I never saw the bill.....and thats assuming you actually believe in those myths..........do you ?
and,
Why would I be highlighting Christian teachings?
or Jewish or Muslim or Buddhist for that matter....???
Did you get the impression I was a minister of some sort ?

[RockX]

Since we are surmising about religion here we could channel our inner Eric Cartman and his 'tolerance' for other religions by guessing that the family was Jewish and too cheap to pay the fee or maybe the firefighters were Jewish and wouldn't do the work without getting paid.