October 5, 2010

Why Private Fire Departments DON'T WORK

From ThinkProgress:

there are currently two competing visions of governance in the United States. One, the conservative vision, believes in the on-your-own society, and informs a policy agenda that primarily serves the well off and privileged sectors of the country. The other vision, the progressive one, believes in an American Dream that works for all people, regardless of their racial, religious, or economic background.


This is the perverted version of America that Ron Paul, libertarians, and the Tea Party want to bring you:


From Huffington Post:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy



A smoldering rage may be all that remains after Gene Cranick's home burned to the ground last week in Obion County, Tennessee.

Firefighters are usually the bold "veni, vidi, vici" sort, but those from neighboring South Fulton could only say "veni, vidi." They came. They watched. That's it.

Cranick lives outside of the city limits and he admits that he forgot to pay a $75 annual service fee that would have provided him with fire protection. Firefighters wouldn't lift a finger, much less the hoses that might have saved the house.

The fire reportedly started in some barrels outside. As the flames crept closer to the home, Cranick says he offered to pay whatever it would take. The plea fell on deaf ears. Hours later, the home was gone.

So were three dogs and a cat.

"They coulda' been saved if they put water on it. But they didn't do it," Cranick told MSNBC.

The South Fulton firefighters did show up and managed to save a neighbor's field. The neighbor had paid the fee. But they would provide no heroics for the Cranicks. A local news report shows them climbing back on their trucks, flames still dancing over what was once the family's home.


Read the rest: click here

This shirt was originally meant as a joke, but it seems sadly apropos today:


Click the image to go to my Etsy Shop


I want to set up a fund so that proceeds from the sale of this shirt will be donated to Gene Cranick's family. (I still have to figure out how to get in contact with them-- if you know how, please contact me)

What do you think about this?



UPDATE: So I've decided to push ahead with it. I'll start trying to raise money now, and if I get anything, I'll figure out how to get it to them. I don't yet have any money raised to worry about right now, so I'll just cross that bridge when I come to it. I've been in contact with both MSNBC and WPSD. Any other leads would be appreciated.

11 comments:

  1. Want the shirt. Tell me how much. Actually, you might want to consider a red shirt with white lettering. Or black with red.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Click the image, and it will bring you to the sale page.
    If you want, you can customize your order. I have red on white pre-made, but I can make the other variations you have mentioned.

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  3. Also, I need to figure out how I can get in contact with the Cranick family. I would like to help them out.

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  4. I'll buy one! I'd like one in some form of red/black.

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  5. Go ahead and click through to the etsy shop, and in the order form under "message to seller" you can specify your preferred size and color combo.

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  6. Maybe you can contact the local news station. They may give you the information.

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  7. Thanks for the tip, I'll give that a shot.

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  8. Contact Keith Olberman at MSNBC. He's been all over this story and I'm sure would help you.

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  9. @Kaylyn Done! We'll see if he responds.

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  10. The state legally prohibited the firefighters from putting down the fire:

    http://hansenreport.wordpress.com/2010/10/05/burning-down-the-house

    This is an idiotic way to manage collective services. When you buy a home, you're not just buying a home, you're buying into a collective grid. This includes road access, sewage, plumbing, police, and a bunch of stuff I probably can't think of. Thus to purchase your home, you would be required to purchase a share of the collective grid. This is what any sane housing development, I imagine, would do. This arrangement doesn't require a state for new areas, just some forethought.

    I don't know anything about the old fire hydrant squatters except that the fire hydrants were "publicly owned", which is to say owned by the state.

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  11. You've got the facts all wrong here. The fire department was not privatized, it was a public fire department with a different jurisdiction, and its government employees refused to put out the fire for any amount of money. I don't understand why people who understand the point of a private company is to make money would somehow think a greedy corporation would refuse to work for any amount of money, even in the face of terrible PR.

    This was government employees acting foolish. It had nothing to do with privatization.

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