Steve: I'll be thinking on this. In the meantime:
1) How far from a fire station are they?
2) Are the roads there kept up in the wintertime?
3) How steep are the roads?
All of these can be big factors in requiring suppression. Most fire departments shoot for a response time of less than five minutes or so. If this can't be attainted due to teh above conditions, suppression is often required.
