A Right to Fire Protection?

Much has been made of the recent new story in Obion County, Tennessee. This was the story about the rural trailer that caught fire. When the fire department arrived on scene, they realized that the homeowner had failed to pay the annual $75 fee for fire protection. Accordingly, the firemen were ordered to back off, allowing the trailer to burn to the ground, a total loss.

The chief of the fire department has been roundly castigated for his decision. Apparently the trailer owner had paid the fee in years past, but this year he “forgot.” But I don’t see how the fire chief could have made the decision any other way. If the fire had been put out, not only would they have no guarantee that the homeowner would pay up next year, but as word spread, surely other homeowners would also choose to make the payment optional. “I just don’t have the money this month. Besides, what are they going to do, just let the place burn? They won’t do that.”

Here’s what I would like to see reported: in the week or so since this story broke, how many $75 checks have arrived at the Obion County courthouse, from other homeowners who had “forgotten” to pay for fire protection? “Holy crap, ma, they’re serious! They just let the Jones place burn to the ground! We gotta come up with the money, just in case.”

Many people, including me, had not realized that purchasing fire protection insurance was optional. It seems that this situation applies in many rural areas. When you think about it, this makes sense. In cities, and even in the suburbs, built up densities are high enough that a fire that starts in one structure can easily spread to surrounding buildings. Accordingly, fire protection becomes a common good. Everyone bears the risk, and the costs are covered through tax revenues.

In this case, the risk was isolated to the individual property owner. He could have pooled his risk with the other property owners by paying the fee, but whether on purpose or through negligence, he bore the risk alone.

He chose to roll the dice on needing the fire department. This time the dice came up snake eyes.