To me, this is the perfect argument to make me question my often-Libertarian leanings. The reason we have governments is so that, as a society, we don't have to worry about situations like this. So we can extinguish the fire, without wondering if it was paid for. So we can protect the neighborhood (or surrounding land). Fire departments are in place to provide a necessary protection for society as a whole, and that system breaks down if one person can opt out-- or even be put in a position to have to choose whether to opt out. Fire departments should not have a fee associated, they should be covered by a tax.