That deplorable business of standing by and watching a house burn down for lack of pre-payment could have been easily handled, imo. I can see their point that if the fire department saved every house without payment more people wouldn't pay up but why not charge a hefty fee for it?

A person who could have gotten fire protection for an annual $75 but 'forgot' to pay it then found he had to turn around and pay $1000 after the house was saved would quickly see that neglecting the $75 was counter-productive.

In addition, the fire district would have a revenue enhancer!