People were not paying in the rural area because they are fucking cheap. They voted AGAINST a fire dept in their own municipality for the last decade or more. This man helped to create this problem, he chose to not pay the fee, their lives were saved, and his house burned. There's no room for a change of heart just because the fate you gambled against occurred. That man CHOSE to keep his money, and only relented when he suddenly needed the service he believed he never needed
Yes, and the consequence of that should be that they are forced to pay through the nose for the one time fire, and then accountable for actually coming through on the payment. It should not be to let the fire keep on going when something CAN be done about it.