Rock Hill Herald: Brown got off easy

The Rock Hill Herald today blasted U.S. Rep. Henry Brown's zeal for special treatment after a fire got out of control and burned national forest. If he had not been a congressman, he likely would have been treated differently, it said:

Let's get this straight: U.S. Rep. Henry Brown started a forest fire and was fined $250 -- and he's complaining?

Brown reportedly was burning on land he owns near Cordesville, east of Moncks Corner, on March 5 when the blaze jumped both his line and that of the Francis Marion National Forest. The fire burned 20 acres of national forest land before firefighters were able to bring it under control.
Forest Service officials said Brown was fined after an "extensive investigation" to ensure that their enforcement policy was consistent. Brown, however, was miffed. He said it was like the city fire department putting out a fire at your house, then sending you a bill.

"It's an arrogance in the government, and not just because it's Henry Brown, but everybody," Brown said. "It's a real equity issue as far as I'm concerned. There is no consideration for no-fault accidents in the code. I just felt like the fire was out of my control."

Well, yeah, it was out of control, but he started it. He failed to control his fire.

The analogy about the city fire department charging for putting out a fire at his house doesn't work, either. A better analogy would be if he started a fire in his back yard and it spread to his neighbor's back yard. Who's responsible then?

In some states, those who set wilderness ablaze, either deliberately or out of carelessness, can face heavy fines and jail time. Seems to us, Rep. Brown got off easy.