Several yrs ago an article about a fire in one of the New England states was very similar to this,, kinda-maybe..
The local government had put in place a process where the police and fire/rescue were "purchased" by the locals.
The gov had determined that to have services available for the far corners of the area was to expensive, based on a historical lack of use/need.
So they set up a pay for coverage for the outlying areas. The Vigorish (VIG) was exponential, the further away you were, the more you paid.
Found the article, Tenn not NE..
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/39516346/n...let-home-burn/
A lot of people said "screw you" and refused to pay the VIG.
They ended up with fires like you have, TS. Refusing to respond because the VIG wasn't paid..
