Editing South Fulton, Tennessee (section)

=="Pay for Spray" controversy==
Starting in the early 1990s, South Fulton adopted a policy of allowing people outside the city limits to be protected by the fire department, in return for a $75 annual fee. But unlike neighboring towns, which would even protect someone who had not paid (while charging them a larger fee covering expenses),<ref name="secondnbc" /> South Fulton would simply refuse to help anyone not on a list as having paid up.
 
In 2010, a member of the Cranick family of Obion County was burning trash near the family home, when it got out of control and caught the house on fire. They called 911, but the fire department refused to respond, because the Cranicks weren't on the list as having paid the tax. Understanding the premise of the [[free rider problem]], Gene Cranick offered to pay the full cost of the department responding, but was refused.<ref>[http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/06/tennessee-firefighters-watch-home-burn/?_r=0 New York Times —Tennessee Firefighters Watch Home Burn]<br/>Mr. Cranick later told The Associated Press that he had paid the fee in years past and that it had simply slipped his mind this year. Even when he offered to pay whatever the cost might be to put out the fire, the department refused to respond to the emergency during the two hours it took for the flames to spread from his yard to his house.</ref> The South Fulton Fire Department did show up, but refrained from helping, only protecting the property of a neighbor who had paid the tax. The Cranicks lost three dogs and the family cat, along with the house and most of their possessions.
 
In 2011 this happened again, with Vicky Bell, the homeowner, reporting that the fire department actually pulled up and watched, but did not help.<ref name="secondnbc">[http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2011/12/07/9272989-firefighters-let-home-burn-over-75-fee-again NBC: Firefighters Let Home Burn over $75 Fee — Again]<br/>It's the second time in two years firefighters in the area have watched a house burn because of unpaid fees. Last year, Gene Cranick of Obion County and his family lost all of their possessions in a house fire, along with three dogs and a cat, because the fire fee wasn't paid.</ref>
 
This policy has been decried by media nationally, including [[Keith Olbermann]],<ref>[http://www.statter911.com/2011/12/07/south-fulton-mayor-david-crocker-makes-keith-olbermanns-worst-persons/ South Fulton Mayor David Crocker makes Keith Olbermann's 'Worst Persons']</ref> and Harold Schaitberger, president of the [[International Association of Fire Fighters]], who said "Professional, career firefighters shouldn’t be forced to check a list before running out the door to see which homeowners have paid up...They get in their trucks and go."<ref>[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna39516346 NBC News: No Pay, No Spray: Firefighters Let Home Burn<br/>]"Professional, career firefighters shouldn’t be forced to check a list before running out the door to see which homeowners have paid up," Harold Schaitberger, International Association of Fire Fighters president, said in a statement. "They get in their trucks and go."</ref>
 
Conversely, this policy was defended by some, including [[Glenn Beck]]<ref>[http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/46276/ Glenn Beck: Fireman let house burn over $75]<br/>This is the same argument that we have almost every day. It’s social justice or equal justice. Equal justice is you didn’t pay your 75 bucks, the house burns to the ground; because your neighbor did pay the 75 bucks, we’re going to watch over their house. Social justice is, Well, your house is on fire, we’re here, anyway. We’re going to put it out.</ref> and the [[National Review]]<ref>[http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/248658/pay-spray-fire-department-doing-right-thing-kevin-d-williamson National Review — Pay-for-Spray Fire Department: Doing the Right Thing]<br/>And, for their trouble, the South Fulton fire department is being treated as though it has done something wrong, rather than having gone out of its way to make services available to people who did not have them before.</ref>
 
Two years after this controversy started, the city of South Fulton changed their policy. Going forward, any homeowner who didn't pay the $75 tax must pay $3,500 per call.<ref>[http://www.npr.org/2012/03/18/148858042/tenn-town-fights-fire-with-money NPR — Tenn. Town Fights Fire With Money]<br/>And that's the thing I think folks might be overlooking. There's a possibility that if you live far enough out in the county that you might lose all your possessions by the time the fire department could get there anyway. If you haven't paid now and you ask the fire department to come out you not only have that tragic part of it, but you're going to have to pay $3,500 for it. Whereas before, just didn't have it.</ref>