Shouting "Code Violation!" in a Fire

Brian Doherty | January 15, 2008

Remember that famous Onion gag about the libertarian who nonetheless calls on public fire departments? The story of Dr. Herman Weiss illuminates why it sometimes isn't a good idea to alert public servants to your troubles: Weiss, a doctor in West Hempstead, NY--who, in a lovely twist, had to run away from the wife and six kids he'd just saved to do a 6 a.m. baby delivery--gets cited by building inspectors post-fire. The doc and his family were hit with citations for "a discrepancy in plumbing plans and living in the house without a certificate of occupancy."

UPDATE: The link on "gets cited" had been changed to a longer, more detailed version of the news story, as discussed in comments.