By Kat Kanning

Mike Barskey and his work crew relaxed over a small cooking fire one day. They'd planned on making some hotdogs for their lunch. The fire pit was about 3 x 5 ft, 2 feet deep, rock lined, with 4 people attending the fire. The location of the fire pit had been approved by the fire chief himself, the year before. Barskey and his whole crew did not consider the fire a danger to neighbors. If fact, they considered it none of anybody's business but their own.

A NH deputy fire marshal from Enfield happened to drive by and seeing the fire, stopped to ask if they had a permit. Apparently, the possession of such piece of paper would magically make the fire safe, according to the government. When Barskey and crew refused to produce such a document, and refused to put the fire out, the fire marshal threatened them with arrest and contacted the police. He did not contact the fire department to put out the raging campfire – he called the police, clearly demonstrating that it was an issue of control and not safety.

The local police showed up and demanded that the fire be put out. The local constabulary was much stymied by members of the work crew completely ignoring him and continuing to throw sticks on the fire. The fire department was contacted by the local police. They brought a fire truck and put the fire out, as the crew was roasting weenies. In the meantime, the fire truck was parked blocking Highway 4, causing people to pass on a blind curve and creating an actual danger to people.

Had Barskey actually requested a fire permit, he most likely would not have been given one. A similar request by other freestaters in the area was refused because the fire chief 'did not have the right piece of paper to give out the permit'. As if by magic, the paper was available the very next day after this incident, and the freestaters were given a permit.

So Barskey and crew had their work / lunch destroyed, all for doing nothing that harmed anyone else. The crew had various people on Barskey's property, despite repeated requests for firemen/police to leave. In short, Barskey was violated by people who claimed to be there only for protection.

Since the story has been out for some time, neighbors have come out of the woodwork, complaining of the tyranny of the small town fire department. One man spoke of cronyism in who was allowed to have fires in the area. In a state covered in trees, it is important to be able to burn one's brush.

So why was this a big deal? Several reasons. One, the fire 'protection' is yet another means by which Big Government can butt into your private life. One neighbor told us how the Grafton fire chief demanded entry into his home to inspect the wood stove.

What's sad about this is it shows clearly how well it works to get libertarians into positions of power. The Grafton fire chief is also the Libertarian Party candidate for governor of New Hampshire. He is also the liaison for FEMA in this area. He has shown that elected libertarians will, in a pinch, act just like every other bureaucrat in order to keep their positions of power. “Just doin' my job, ma'am.” And when FEMA comes to NH and demands gun confiscation as they did in New Orleans, what will happen then?