I cannot believe they outright refused to help, even to save the lives of the pets, and even with the man saying he'd pay the costs. Granted, the man is partially responsible for his own misfortune by forgetting to pay the annual fee, but the actions of this fire department are inhumane. What is this family to do now? What about the lives of those pets that were lost? All for 75 dollars? When the man indicated he would pay whatever was needed to put out the fire?

That's monstrous.

EDIT: as an additional thought, what if there were people trapped inside the house? I imagine the situation would suddenly be dire enough that they'd take the offer of money and save the house/people. Or do you think they'd only rescue the people and then refuse to put out the fire in the house