I didn't read the whole thread, but here is my opinion on the story. Bills get lost, shuffled under other papers, forgotten, etc. In his area, I'm sure you aren't paying your fire tax online... It could have been an honest mistake, forgotten bill, and they did nothing (not the case here, as the owner admitted, but I'm sure they didn't find that out until he was interviewed after the fact, anyway). To not put out the fire is asinine. All I can say is if I was standing in my yard, watching my house burn, while there was a line of fire trucks in my driveway with firefighters leaning on them, I would be purchasing a first class ticket to the pokey via a shovel from my shed.
To those comparing this story to insurance, you are way off base. Insurance is a private company you pay to protect you financially (basically legalized extortion). If you don't pay them, they don't have to protect you. They aren't run by the government. Firefighters, however, are. Just like ambulances (most), cops, etc. If I crash my motorcycle, I don't want to worry about being behind on my cop privilege fees. Throw my azz in the meat wagon and get me to the hospital. Public servants aren't an insurance plan.
Another thing to point out is this rural town didn't buy fire trucks by collecting $75 from it's few thousand citizens. The $75 is just for truck maintenance, electricity at the fire house, etc. The trucks were bought through taxes and federal funding. If he was a homeowner, he was more than likely a contributing member of society, therefor he did his part in purchasing the fire equipment. They could have fined him afterward for not paying the fee on time (which he probably wouldn't have payed anyway, but that is irrelevant here). This story is just another embarrassment to the country being viewed by the rest of the world. Everyone defending these pos's is just further embarrassment.
If you live in the middle of no where, you're the "King of the Hill!" 
