So should we somehow recover roughly $127,000 from the victims of each fire?
Of course not. I and my neighbors pay taxes to maintain the Fire Department and have it ready when needed. Many may argue that we pay too much, but those unfortunate enough to actually need its services would probably say they got a great deal.
For my city of Ann Arbor, Michigan from https://www.a2gov.org/media/4glhvywf/2025-aafd-annual-report...
FY2026 budget: $20,810,234 Structure Fires: 58 Cooking Fires: 75 Vehicle Fires: 30
So should we somehow recover roughly $127,000 from the victims of each fire?
Of course not. I and my neighbors pay taxes to maintain the Fire Department and have it ready when needed. Many may argue that we pay too much, but those unfortunate enough to actually need its services would probably say they got a great deal.