After some thought, I've come to the conclusion that this was the only thing the fire department could have done.
The firefighters can't just put out the fire and then bill him the full cost of the service after the fact, because he lives outside the jurisdiction of the town, meaning that they have no working enforcement mechanism (can't cut off services because he doesn't use them, can't arrest him because he lives outside the town police's jurisdiction). Not only that, but he could likely argue in court that, since he consciously didn't pay for such a service, he never asked for it to begin with, and therefore shouldn't have to pay.
For the same reason, the $75 tax could not be made mandatory - it was already charged by default from my understanding, he just chose not to pay, and there was nothing the city could do about it.
The firefighters can't put out the fire for free, since that would cause people to realize that they can get a service for nothing, whereupon people would stop paying for fire protection, and the fire department would eventually collapse, since that would essentially be getting something for nothing. The corollary of this is that the residents of South Fulton would object to the freeloaders, and there would be pressure come municipal election day in South Fulton against anyone who endorses supporting the freeloaders.
The state and federal levels can't do anything about it, because fire protection is a service generally administered at the municipal level. The state jurisdiction issue is further hampered by the fact that South Fulton is in Kentucky, while the Cranicks' house was in Tennessee.
Mind you, from a decency perspective I find this incident to be abhorrent, but when you're talking about structuring and maintaining a public services system, the situation becomes considerably more complex. When you get right down to it, this isn't even a liberal vs conservative or libertarian vs socialist issue, but rather an issue of civics and personal responsibility. The conclusion, I suppose, is that the taxes we pay in our lifetime actually do something when it really matters - for one, they entitle you to scream into the phone and get someone to bail your ass out ASAP when your personal safety is threatened.
Super World Cup Fighter II: Championship 2010 Edition