It's a co-op. If they'd put his fire out, next year 50% of the members wouldn't have paid, and in two years there would have been NO FIRE DEPARTMENT AT ALL.

I'm truly amazed at how dense some people can be. The dude made a bet. A very, very bad bet. And he lost. Does he have any responsibility at all?

I'll give you 3:1 he doesn't have any fire insurance on the property, either.