美国居民未缴消防费 消防员听任其房屋被烧
2011年12月08日15:46
中新网12月8日电 据台湾“中广新闻网”报道，美国一户人家没有缴消防费，这户人家家里发生火灾时，消防队员赶到现场却不肯帮忙灭火，眼睁睁看着房屋被大火吞噬。
这户人家住在田纳西州欧必杨县。屋主维基说，日前她家起火，她向附近南福敦市消防队求救，消防队员赶到现场却不帮忙灭火，幸好没人伤亡。
此事经媒体报道后，南福敦市市长克洛克为消防队员辩护。他说，南福敦市消防队的主要责任，是为南福敦市灭火，南福敦市外围地区居民，每户必须缴交75美元消防费，才能请消防队帮忙救火。维基这户人家没有缴消防费，因此消防队没有责任帮助他们。
以下是美国媒体新闻：
Firefighters let home burn over $75 fee -- again
Firefighters let home burn over $75 fee -- again
SOUTH FULTON, Tenn. -- Firefighters stood by and watched a Tennessee house burn to the ground earlier this week because the homeowners didn't pay the annual subscription fee for fire service.
"You could look out my mom's trailer and see the trucks sitting at a distance," Vicky Bell, the homeowner, said.
For Bell, that sight was almost as disturbing as the fire itself.
"We just wished we could've gotten more out," she said.
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.
Related: No pay, no spray: Firefighters watch home burn
People in the city of South Fulton have fire protection, but those in the surrounding county do not unless they pay a $75 annual fee.
The city makes no exceptions.
"There's no way to go to every fire and be able to keep up the manpower, the equipment, and just the funding for the fire department," said South Fulton Mayor David Crocker.
Crocker said that by now, everyone should know about the city's fire policy.
"After the last situation, I would hope that everybody would be well aware of the rural fire fees, this time," he said.
In a nearby county, rural homeowners can purchase a $110 subscription to cover fires, but they can also pay on the spot for fire protection: $2,200 for the first two hours firefighters are on the scene and $1,100 for each additional hour, according to dailytimes.com.
Bell and her boyfriend said they were aware of the policy, but thought a fire would never happen to them.
The city has received a lot of criticism over its policy, but has refused to change it.
