to do. The reasons Aemon and Aeryn stated above make sense and help the greatest number of people in the long run. Really I can't think of anything more to convince you than what has been said already. I am not a heartless person. But if I step back and look at this from all points of view I have to agree with the fire department's reasoning. They would go out of business if they didn't require people to pay for their services. When people build houses out in the country they know that they are taking a risk by doing so. They can build a volunteer fire department to service their area or they can pay taxes of fees. They have a choice. This is a sad consequence of several choices. Eventually, this will benefit other people in the area. Sometimes it takes something this bad happening for change to occur.