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A comment on Anti-Tax Fervor Closed Their Libraries. Now Residents Are Trying to Go It Alone. Parent comment

Re:Anti-Tax Fervor Closed Their Libraries. Now Residents Are... by FireBeyond on Wednesday October 17, 2018 @07:00PM (#18244552)
> they might be tempted to vote against funding the fire department as well.

Ironically, Grant's Pass in this very region has privatized fire departments, three of them, and homeowners put a sign by their mailbox indicating which FD serves them (or none)..

Actually, not three. Because, well, people saw an opportunity to get rich, and this was the result:

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhD_5T4F7aw

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaG6fYBKXg8

You might notice some 60s and 70s era fire engines in these videos.

Realize that this private Fire Department only came into existence in the mid 2000s.

It has since been shut down by the State Fire Marshal.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Anti-Tax Fervor Closed Their Libraries. Now Residents Are... by JKCalhoun on Wednesday October 17, 2018 @07:56PM (#18244865)
I'm imagining my neighbors on either side having no fire protection and while they're properties are allowed to blaze, mine is sitting there in the middle. Sure would be nice if the fire department could have stopped the fire sooner....
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Re:Anti-Tax Fervor Closed Their Libraries. Now Residents Are... by magduf on Thursday October 25, 2018 @10:13AM (#18301012)
Actually, in some places where certain residents don't pay for fire services, the fire department will come out anyway and watch their house burn, while making sure that the fire doesn't spread to their neighbors' (who did pay) houses. This happens in places like Arizona where "county islands" exist, where a few people refused to allow their property to be annexed into a municipality, so those people don't get any protection from the fire department.
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