A recent headline caught my attention and has stuck with me ever since reading it. On September 29, a house just outside of South Fulton, Tennessee caught on fire, but when the fire department showed up, they provided no services to the owners of the house and simply watched as it burned to the ground. The reason for their lack of action is that this town of South Fulton has laws in place that require residents of the rural sections of the town to pay an annual fee for access to fire department assistance. This family supposedly forgot to pay, and when they called 911 about the fire, they were told the department could not assist them because they weren't "on the list." The man of the house apparently pleaded on the phone that he would pay any and all fees necessary for them to come and help, but his efforts were in vein. Only when the fire began to endanger the house of someone next door who HAD paid the fee did the firemen spring into action and put out the blaze.
Where is the humanity in this situation? Sure, the man hasn't paid his fees, but his house - with all his family's cherished belongings and memories - is going up in flames and no action is taken? Let the man make his payment late, and if you want to be really stringent about it, make him pay some huge late fee or some penalty of that nature, but at least try to put the fire out.
The family also lost three dogs and a cat to the fire, so this could also be seen as an animal rights violation. No matter how you view this, the actions of the South Fulton Fire Department and this rule that is in place there are both unjustifiable and repulsive, and they made me question the concept of neighbor and community.
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