be expected to run into a burning house for someone that didn't think it was important enough to remember to pay. Apparently the man wasn't too poor to pay as he offered whatever it took to get the firefighters out.

The rest of the county paid for the services in their taxes. The rural people were given the choice to pay and this one chose not to. Maybe the rural people should insist on this payment being part of their taxes so they don't forget.

Sorry to sound heartless. If I were a firefighter myself I probably would have helped out of instinct. But, if I were the firefighter's family I would sorely resent someone expecting my husband to risk his life save their house when they hadn't bothered to put in their share for the upkeep of the fire department. It takes money to run. I agree with the mayor's reasons. He is protecting the firefighters. Kind of like doctors have to hire people to take care of billing because they wouldn't have the heart to do it themselves.

Socialization isn't all bad. Sometimes people have to be forced to protect themselves. Or helped to remember to pay their fair share.

*Edit* According to the man, he had always payed the fee in the past. There was one instance a few years ago when he forgot and had a chimney fire which the fire department didn't hesitate to put out and allowed him to pay the fee the next day. This time he was out of town or something for awhile and forgot because of that. This I can understand. I was way too harsh and needed to fix the false information I had spread.