[po]

Sure, that's true and I think people who don't pay the taxes that support the firemen should be ashamed of themselves and forced to pay. Similarly, I think firemen should be trained well and paid for the risk they are taking on.

That being said, humans are not very good at reasoning about risk. Fire is a life-destroying event disproportionate to the perceived risk. It can wipe a family out and has secondary impacts to the community in general. I think we should accept that. We don't have to periodically let someone's home burn to the ground to serve as a lesson to others.