Well, do keep in mind that many cities and counties in the US rival some nations in size and wealth. In a city like Chicago or New York, with its skyscrapers, airports, ports, factories, etc. that are either absent or uncommon in the rest of the state it makes sense to organize on a municipal level.Alkaloid wrote:Is there some sane reason that emergency services in the US are run by the city/county and not the state? Because it seems schizophrenic and disjointed at best.
However, real reason is historical. While the US was expanding counties and cities were frequently largely on their own and had to make do with what they had. Territorial, and later state, governments weren't that powerful and communication and transportation somewhat spotty and difficult.
Certain services ARE organized at the state level - the National Guard, for example, and their are state police. However, the National Guard are only called out for extreme emergencies, and the state police typically only deal with things that cross county lines, such as patrolling the interstate and other highways.
What it comes down to is that the US culturally emphasizes local control.
Now, in my area, "unincorporated" parts of the county are usually covered by volunteer fire departments. That is, the fire fighters are volunteer, they work for no pay (they usually have other employment), and equipment costs are covered by various means, from local fundraisers to government grants. They do seem fairly effective at getting people out of house fires alive, and keeping one house fire from spreading to adjacent buildings. This sort of arrangement is not uncommon with rural and lower population areas. Here is a link to the Griffith Fire Department, who are the people who would respond if I called 911. From what I've seen they respond just as promptly as the Chicago Fire Department did when I lived in the big city (of course, they're covering a much smaller area) and last year they did a fine job of making sure the flaming car parked next to the building next door not only didn't spread to my building, but also prevented damage to the building it was almost on top of. They deal with house fires, brush fires, industrial fires, airplane crashes (the airport I used to fly out of regularly is also under their jurisdiction), train accidents, and vehicle crashes and accidents. They use the same equipment as the big city departments, they just have less of it. This is how it is normally done in the US. Even small, non-wealthy areas make an effort to get professional-quality fire coverage even from volunteers. They also engage in quite a bit of fire prevention work. About 70% of US fire-fighters are classified as volunteers, so it's a common system in the US.
What's sort of unusual is that this part of Tennessee doesn't seem to have such a system. Then again, my Tennessee relatives seem inordinately proud of how very low the taxes are in their state, while ignoring the lack of governmental services, even vital ones. Sure, they pay next to no taxes, but if they want electric lighting instead of kerosene lanterns they have to pay to have poles put up and wire strung up the mountain - which is why some of them still don't have electric power in their homes. Likewise, if you want something other than an outhouse YOU get to either dig the well and septic system, or YOU pay for the sewer line to your home and the labor to install in - which is why some of them still have outhouses.
So, while a LOT of the US depends on the county/city government to take care of various services like police, fire, water, sewer, etc. there does seem to be a meme in Tennessee of having the government do fuck-all and you, yourself, have to pay for everything. Which totally sucks if you're poor - stop and think about it. Apparently, though, even in rural regions they can't get enough people off their asses to form a volunteer department, and apparently can't get anyone to buy raffle tickets or come to a Friday fund-raising dinner to equip it. They also, apparently, can't get anyone to tap into the Federal money/resources for such a fire department (I have no idea if Tennessee provides any state-level support, although most states I'm aware do give support/money/resources to local fire departments).
You see, in MY county, even the poorest and most destitute person, someone too poor to owe taxes, will still get fire service when they call 911, or just run down the street screaming FIRE!!!! Maybe it's because we've figured out that shit can spread and it's really a hell of a lot better to just put the damn thing out early. If you don't want the entire trailer park to turn into a raging inferno put out the first one that catches fire. We don't insist every household pay a $75 fee for the coverage, and we don't have a list of protected or not protected people. Even where we have county level organization we don't force people to pay a "subscription" for fire protection.
tl:dnr - this situation in Tennessee is an aberration by US standards, even for rural/remote areas. Apparently, they can't even get a volunteer department going, despite the fact there are government funds and grants available. Since 911, the Feds have provided more money for this as well as part of improving disaster preparedness. Even fucking Texas provides some state funding to local departments. This is a shocking state of affairs that does not have to exist. There is money to either set up, or be compensated, for fire coverage of rural areas.
