"I was scared," Karen, who asked we not share her last name.
Frantic to save her home on Arch Thompson Road, Karen began crawling on her hands and knees.
"We finally figured out it was coming out of the vent."
Immediately, Karen called 911 and was shocked to learn the fire department would not be coming out.
"They told me they couldn't find a policy on me," Karen said, referencing a decades-old option that allows those in the county to pay an annual $75 subscription fee to have city fire protection.
The operator told Karen and her son to leave the house and they did. In the end, the pair would turn off an outside heating unit and the smoke would stop.
It was Union City Fire Chief Kelly Edmison's Department that made the command.
"Unfortunately we weren't able to respond," he said.
The choice, he admits, was a difficult one, "That goes against our grain as a firefighter, but we do have policies and people we have to answer to."
He is hopeful this latest scare will encourage more county residents to get the protection fee.
Karen says she does not mind being an example,"The word needs to be out."
She admits she was disappointed but understands firefighters have a job to do. She also realizes she is extremely lucky, "Tonight I am so grateful."
Karen is a renter, but says she will be signing up for renter's insurance. Her landlord, meanwhile, says he was not aware of the option and says he will pay for a subscription fee.
Beginning July 1st, the subscription policy will change. The decision comes after a September 29th fire that destroyed the home of Gene and Paulette Cranick in rural Obion County. Because they failed to pay the $75 fire subscription fee, their house was lost.
The county will now be responsible for collecting those fees. They will then re-distribute the money accordingly to the cities' fire departments.
Anyone interested in purchasing a fire subscription prior to July can do so at any time.
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