1. firefighter is not insurance company but local government owned. The responsibility is to put out fire, fee should never be a reason to refuse service.
2. they are putting neighborhood in ganger, you put out the source of fire, regardless what the source is.
3. while hospitals has to admit ER patient, police has to stop crimes, firefighter can legally stop putting our fires because of fee?

I tend to believe it's either fake or the real reason is still hidden / unknown, not exposed.

Or this is the end of US as we know it.