GulfCoastKid
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Mississippi
This is not about a car accident, but could not find an appropriate forum.
After dinner at a local restaurant, my wife and I took separate cars home. She left ten minutes before me to run some errands. When I got in the car I noticed a huge smoke plum coming from the direction of our house. My wife called my cell to see if I saw the smoke. At that moment, my neighbor beeped and hysterical. He was telling me to get home and that our backyard and fence was on fire.
I asked if he called 911. He said that he did, but they have not arrived yet. I hung up and immediately dialed 911. The dispatcher said that I had the wrong department and transferred me to the county dispatcher. He asked where my emergency was. I gave him my address and told him that the neighbors were outside trying to put out a fire at my house. He asked me to hold and then came back to tell me that the fire department was already there and it was just somebody burning leaves.
I then tried to call my neighbor back, but kept getting voice mail. He called me a few minutes later. I told him what 911 reported. He said that was not true and that they were still trying to put the fire out. He said it had engulfed my whole yard and the house was going to burn down.
I called 911 back and told the dispatcher that his information was wrong and he needed to get a crew out now. Instead of acting, I received a lecture on why I should not be raising my voice at him. I was stunned. I said get somebody out to my house now!
I was stuck behind a train at a crossing, but still managed to get home before the fire department got there. All of the grass was burned to a crisp in my yard. The fence between my house and the neighbors was still on fire, as was a tree in my yard. My neighbor was hosing what he could. I got another hose and started hosing the fence.
We managed to get it under control before the house went up in flames. Then the volunteer fire department arrived. They walked around with clip boards while I continued t hose out the fires.
They said that this was not mother nature's fault and that somebody had a role in this.
Remember the plume of smoke that my wife and I saw after dinner? That was a huge controlled burn that the federal government had started for the sole reason of protecting some endangered birds. A short time before my neighbor noticed the fire in my yard, he said that the local government made a reverse 911 call to the neighborhood letting them know about the fire for the birds.
I asked the fire department if this was likely caused by the controlled burn. They said, "Anything is possible."
The police showed up an hour later. My neighbor asked, "What do you think caused this fire?" He pulled a map out of his car and pointed to my house on it. He then pointed to where the controlled fire was started. I asked how far that was. He said it was a quarter to a half mile. He then said that he would bet anything that caused the fire in my yard.
It seems that a greater power saved my home and dogs. The federal government and the 911 dispatcher certainly did not.
I am at a loss for what I should do now? My yard is ruined. My fence burned down. My kid won't sleep. My wife won't let me leave the house for fear that it could happen again. My dogs can't go outside.
Should I be thinking about calling a lawyer?
This is not about a car accident, but could not find an appropriate forum.
After dinner at a local restaurant, my wife and I took separate cars home. She left ten minutes before me to run some errands. When I got in the car I noticed a huge smoke plum coming from the direction of our house. My wife called my cell to see if I saw the smoke. At that moment, my neighbor beeped and hysterical. He was telling me to get home and that our backyard and fence was on fire.
I asked if he called 911. He said that he did, but they have not arrived yet. I hung up and immediately dialed 911. The dispatcher said that I had the wrong department and transferred me to the county dispatcher. He asked where my emergency was. I gave him my address and told him that the neighbors were outside trying to put out a fire at my house. He asked me to hold and then came back to tell me that the fire department was already there and it was just somebody burning leaves.
I then tried to call my neighbor back, but kept getting voice mail. He called me a few minutes later. I told him what 911 reported. He said that was not true and that they were still trying to put the fire out. He said it had engulfed my whole yard and the house was going to burn down.
I called 911 back and told the dispatcher that his information was wrong and he needed to get a crew out now. Instead of acting, I received a lecture on why I should not be raising my voice at him. I was stunned. I said get somebody out to my house now!
I was stuck behind a train at a crossing, but still managed to get home before the fire department got there. All of the grass was burned to a crisp in my yard. The fence between my house and the neighbors was still on fire, as was a tree in my yard. My neighbor was hosing what he could. I got another hose and started hosing the fence.
We managed to get it under control before the house went up in flames. Then the volunteer fire department arrived. They walked around with clip boards while I continued t hose out the fires.
They said that this was not mother nature's fault and that somebody had a role in this.
Remember the plume of smoke that my wife and I saw after dinner? That was a huge controlled burn that the federal government had started for the sole reason of protecting some endangered birds. A short time before my neighbor noticed the fire in my yard, he said that the local government made a reverse 911 call to the neighborhood letting them know about the fire for the birds.
I asked the fire department if this was likely caused by the controlled burn. They said, "Anything is possible."
The police showed up an hour later. My neighbor asked, "What do you think caused this fire?" He pulled a map out of his car and pointed to my house on it. He then pointed to where the controlled fire was started. I asked how far that was. He said it was a quarter to a half mile. He then said that he would bet anything that caused the fire in my yard.
It seems that a greater power saved my home and dogs. The federal government and the 911 dispatcher certainly did not.
I am at a loss for what I should do now? My yard is ruined. My fence burned down. My kid won't sleep. My wife won't let me leave the house for fear that it could happen again. My dogs can't go outside.
Should I be thinking about calling a lawyer?
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